Analyzing CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) & Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV)

CareDx (NASDAQ:CDNA) and Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CareDx and Elevance Health”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CareDx	$333.79 million	2.90	$52.55 million	$1.19	15.80
Elevance Health	$199.13 billion	0.38	$5.66 billion	$25.12	13.65

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

Volatility and Risk

CareDx has a beta of 2.51, indicating that its stock price is 151% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Elevance Health has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for CareDx and Elevance Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CareDx	0	6	3	0	2.33
Elevance Health	1	9	12	0	2.50

CareDx currently has a consensus price target of $26.67, indicating a potential upside of 41.84%. Elevance Health has a consensus price target of $390.55, indicating a potential upside of 13.88%. Given CareDx’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe CareDx is more favorable than Elevance Health.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.2% of Elevance Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.4% of CareDx shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Elevance Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares CareDx and Elevance Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CareDx	19.65%	20.15%	15.15%
Elevance Health	2.84%	15.59%	5.60%

Summary

CareDx beats Elevance Health on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CareDx

CareDx, Inc. engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic solutions for transplant patients and caregivers in the United States and internationally. It also provides AlloSure Kidney, a donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) solution for kidney transplant patients; AlloMap Heart, a gene expression solution for heart transplant patients; AlloSure Heart, a dd-cfDNA solution for heart transplant patients; and AlloSure Lung, a dd-cfDNA solution for lung transplant patients. The company offers Olerup SSP, which is used to type human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles based on sequence specific primer technology; QTYPE that enables precision in HLA typing; and Ottr, a transplant patient management software. In addition, it provides AlloSeq Tx, a high-resolution HLA typing solution; AlloSeq cfDNA, a surveillance solution to measure dd-cfDNA in blood; AlloSeq HCT, a solution for chimerism testing for stem cell transplant recipients; Allocell, a surveillance solution that monitors the level of engraftment and persistence of allogeneic cells for patients who have received cell therapy transplants; and XynQAPI cloud-based transplant quality management software, as well as AlloCare, a mobile app that offers a patient-centric resource for transplant recipients. The company offers its products directly to customers, as well as through third-party distributors and sub-distributors. It has a license agreement with Illumina, Inc. for the distribution, development, and commercialization of NGS products and technologies; and Cibiltech SAS to commercialize iBox, a software for the predictive analysis of post-transplantation kidney allograft loss. The company was formerly known as XDx, Inc. and changed its name to CareDx, Inc. in March 2014. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits. The company operates in the pharmacy services business; and markets and offers pharmacy services, including pharmacy benefit management, as well as home delivery and specialty pharmacies, claims adjudication, formulary management, pharmacy networks, rebate administration, a prescription drug database, and member services. In addition, it provides healthcare-related services and capabilities, including utilization management, behavioral health, integrated care delivery, palliative care, payment integrity services, subrogation services, and health and wellness programs, as well as services related to data management, information technology, and business operations. Further, the company is involved in the National Government Services business. The company provides its services under the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Wellpoint, and Carelon brand names. The company was formerly known as Anthem, Inc. and changed its name to Elevance Health, Inc. in June 2022. Elevance Health, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.