Head to Head Contrast: Solventum (NYSE:SOLV) vs. So-Young International (NASDAQ:SY)

So-Young International (NASDAQ:SY) and Solventum (NYSE:SOLV) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

So-Young International has a beta of 2.14, meaning that its share price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Solventum has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.3% of So-Young International shares are held by institutional investors. 16.7% of So-Young International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Solventum shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares So-Young International and Solventum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
So-Young International	$217.84 million	1.28	-$34.65 million	($0.33)	-8.32
Solventum	$8.33 billion	1.43	$1.56 billion	$8.87	7.76

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for So-Young International and Solventum, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
So-Young International	1	0	1	0	2.00
Solventum	1	5	7	0	2.46

So-Young International presently has a consensus target price of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 100.36%. Solventum has a consensus target price of $90.64, suggesting a potential upside of 31.73%. Given So-Young International’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe So-Young International is more favorable than Solventum.

Profitability

This table compares So-Young International and Solventum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
So-Young International	-15.97%	-12.54%	-8.55%
Solventum	18.69%	25.26%	7.40%

Summary

Solventum beats So-Young International on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About So-Young International

So-Young International Inc. operates an online platform for consumption healthcare services in the People's Republic of China. The company offers So-Young Mobile App that offers users medical aesthetic knowledge and experience to reach an informed medical aesthetic treatment decision and make reservations for treatment with medical professionals and medical aesthetic institutions; So-Young Beauty which provides similar interfaces and functions as the mobile app, as well as serves as additional access points to the platform; and medical aesthetic community content through its website soyoung.com. It provides content in various media formats on its online platform generated by users, including professional generated, content from in-house editorial team that shares opinions on specific new medical procedures and trends; user generated content comprising Beauty Diaries that provides details about medical institution, doctor, price, and other information on the treatment; professional user generated, contents from the medical aesthetic influencers; and doctor generated, content from doctors to generate knowledge. In addition, the company offers consumption healthcare services, including dermatology, dentistry and orthodontics, physical examinations, gynecology, and postnatal care; reservation services; and software as a service. Further, it engages in research and development, production, sales, and agency of laser and other optoelectronic medical beauty equipment; manufacture and sells light therapy device, surgical laser device and other equipment; internet information and technology advisory; online medical treatment and consultation; management consulting; internet culture; micro finance services, as well as sells cosmetics products. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

About Solventum

Solventum Corporation, a healthcare company, engages in the developing, manufacturing, and commercializing a portfolio of solutions to address critical customer and patient needs. It operates through four segments: Medsurg, Dental Solutions, Health Information Systems, and Purification and Filtration. The Medsurg segment is a provider of solutions including advanced wound care, I.V. site management, sterilization assurance, temperature management, surgical supplies, stethoscopes, and medical electrodes. The Dental Solutions segment provides a comprehensive suite of dental and orthodontic products including brackets, aligners, restorative cements, and bonding agents. The Health Information Systems provides software solutions including computer-assisted, physician documentation, direct-to-bill and coding automation, classification methodologies, speech, recognition, and data visualization platforms. The Purification and Filtration segment provides purification and filtration technologies including filters, purifiers, cartridges, and membranes. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.