Contrasting Biostage (OTCMKTS:BSTG) & InspireMD (NYSE:NSPR)

Biostage (OTCMKTS:BSTG) and InspireMD (NYSE:NSPR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.8% of InspireMD shares are held by institutional investors. 15.3% of Biostage shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.7% of InspireMD shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Biostage and InspireMD’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Biostage	N/A	N/A	-174.43%
InspireMD	-413.96%	-69.42%	-57.68%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Biostage and InspireMD, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Biostage	0	0	1	0	3.00
InspireMD	0	0	2	0	3.00

InspireMD has a consensus price target of $4.50, suggesting a potential upside of 122.22%. Given InspireMD’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe InspireMD is more favorable than Biostage.

Volatility & Risk

Biostage has a beta of -1.02, indicating that its share price is 202% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, InspireMD has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Biostage and InspireMD”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Biostage	N/A	N/A	-$6.07 million	($0.58)	-7.67
InspireMD	$7.78 million	11.03	-$19.92 million	($0.84)	-2.41

Biostage has higher earnings, but lower revenue than InspireMD. Biostage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than InspireMD, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

InspireMD beats Biostage on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Biostage

Biostage, Inc., a biotechnology company, offers products to cure patients of cancers, injuries, and birth defects of the gastro-intestinal tract and the airways. The company's pipeline includes organ-regeneration technology for the repair or replacement of diseased or damaged organs, as well as product candidates to treat cancer, injury, and birth defects of the bronchus. Its lead product candidate is Biostage Esophageal Implant for the treatment of severe esophageal disease. The company was formerly known as Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology, Inc. and changed its name to Biostage, Inc. in March 2016. Biostage, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Holliston, Massachusetts.

About InspireMD

InspireMD, Inc., a medical device company, focuses on the development and commercialization of MicroNet stent platform technology for the treatment of vascular and coronary diseases in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. The company offers CGuard carotid embolic prevention system (EPS) for use in carotid artery applications; CGuard Prime Stent System, a mesh-covered self-expanding carotid stent; and SwitchGuard NPS, a non-invasive transcarotid artery revascularization device; as well as treating acute stroke with tandem lesions. InspireMD, Inc. has a strategic agreement with Jacobs Institute to execute an early feasibility study of CGuard Prime for the treatment of acute stroke patients with tandem lesions. The company sells its products through local distribution partners. InspireMD, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.