Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR – Get Free Report) and Maravai LifeSciences (NASDAQ:MRVI – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Icon and Maravai LifeSciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Icon | 5.45% | 7.73% | 4.39% |
| Maravai LifeSciences | -30.83% | -12.44% | -6.66% |
Volatility & Risk
Icon has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Maravai LifeSciences has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
95.6% of Icon shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.2% of Maravai LifeSciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 44.0% of Icon shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Maravai LifeSciences shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Icon and Maravai LifeSciences”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Icon | $8.23 billion | 1.86 | $229.34 million | $5.81 | 34.37 |
| Maravai LifeSciences | $213.00 million | 9.39 | -$130.77 million | ($0.43) | -17.91 |
Icon has higher revenue and earnings than Maravai LifeSciences. Maravai LifeSciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Icon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Icon and Maravai LifeSciences, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Icon | 1 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 2.50 |
| Maravai LifeSciences | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2.67 |
Icon presently has a consensus target price of $213.76, suggesting a potential upside of 7.04%. Maravai LifeSciences has a consensus target price of $8.10, suggesting a potential upside of 5.19%. Given Icon’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Icon is more favorable than Maravai LifeSciences.
Summary
Icon beats Maravai LifeSciences on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Icon
ICON plc is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government organizations. Its work supports the development of medicines and other healthcare products from early research through clinical trials and regulatory submission. The company’s services include clinical trial design and management, data management and biostatistics, regulatory support, laboratory services, medical imaging and patient recruitment.
About Maravai LifeSciences
Maravai LifeSciences provides products and services used by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the development and production of therapeutics, vaccines, and other biologic products. Its offerings include specialized nucleic acid materials and analytical testing services that support research, manufacturing, and quality control. Through TriLink BioTechnologies, the company supplies modified nucleotides, custom RNA and DNA, and related materials used in applications such as messenger RNA research and production.
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