Critical Survey: Auna (NYSE:AUNA) vs. Biodesix (NASDAQ:BDSX)

Biodesix (NASDAQ:BDSX) and Auna (NYSE:AUNA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Biodesix and Auna”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Biodesix	$71.32 million	0.88	-$42.93 million	($5.56)	-1.41
Auna	$1.17 billion	0.29	$29.39 million	$0.71	6.46

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

Profitability

This table compares Biodesix and Auna’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Biodesix	-49.31%	-504.41%	-43.94%
Auna	4.40%	13.52%	3.27%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Biodesix and Auna, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Biodesix	1	1	4	0	2.50
Auna	1	4	0	0	1.80

Biodesix currently has a consensus price target of $32.50, suggesting a potential upside of 314.01%. Auna has a consensus price target of $6.95, suggesting a potential upside of 51.58%. Given Biodesix’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Biodesix is more favorable than Auna.

Risk and Volatility

Biodesix has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auna has a beta of 2.36, meaning that its share price is 136% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

21.0% of Biodesix shares are held by institutional investors. 30.1% of Biodesix shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Auna beats Biodesix on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Biodesix

Biodesix, Inc. operates as a data-driven diagnostic solutions company in the United States. The company offers blood-based lung tests, including Nodify XL2 and Nodify CDT tests, together marketed as part of Nodify Lung Nodule Risk Assessment testing strategy, to assess the risk of lung cancer and help in identifying the appropriate treatment pathway and help physicians in reclassifying risk of malignancy in patients with suspicious lung nodules. It also provides GeneStrat ddPCR and NGS, and VeriStrat tests, which are used in the diagnosis of lung cancer to measure the presence of mutations in the tumor and the state of the patient's immune system to establish the patient's prognosis and help guide treatment decisions. In addition, the company, through its partnership with Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., provides Bio-Rad SARS-CoV-2 ddPCR, a COVID-19 Test under Biodesix WorkSafe testing program; and Platelia SARS-CoV-2 Total Ab test, an antibody test for detecting a B-cell immune response to SARS-CoV-2 that indicate recent or prior infection. Further, it offers diagnostic and clinical research, as well as clinical trial testing services to biopharmaceutical companies; and discovers, develops, and commercializes companion diagnostics. The company was formerly known as Elston Technologies, Inc. and as changed to Biodesix, Inc. in 2006. Biodesix, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Louisville, Colorado.

About Auna

Auna S.A., a healthcare service provider, operates hospitals and clinics in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. The company provides prepaid healthcare plans in Peru; and dental and vision plans in Mexico. The company was founded in 1989 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.