Comparing Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) & LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST)

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) and LifeStance Health Group (NASDAQ:LFST) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.2% of Alignment Healthcare shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.5% of LifeStance Health Group shares are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of Alignment Healthcare shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of LifeStance Health Group shares are held by company 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.

Volatility & Risk

Alignment Healthcare has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LifeStance Health Group has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Alignment Healthcare and LifeStance Health Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alignment Healthcare	0.59%	12.46%	2.36%
LifeStance Health Group	3.19%	3.39%	2.33%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alignment Healthcare and LifeStance Health Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alignment Healthcare	$3.95 billion	0.40	-$720,000.00	$0.13	58.15
LifeStance Health Group	$1.42 billion	3.61	$9.66 million	$0.13	103.45

LifeStance Health Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Alignment Healthcare. Alignment Healthcare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LifeStance Health Group, 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 Alignment Healthcare and LifeStance Health Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alignment Healthcare	1	6	6	0	2.38
LifeStance Health Group	0	4	6	1	2.73

Alignment Healthcare currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 85.19%. LifeStance Health Group has a consensus target price of $13.38, indicating a potential downside of 0.55%. Given Alignment Healthcare’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Alignment Healthcare is more favorable than LifeStance Health Group.

Summary

LifeStance Health Group beats Alignment Healthcare on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alignment Healthcare

Alignment Healthcare, Inc., a tech-enabled Medicare advantage company, operates consumer-centric health care platform for seniors in the United States. It provides customized health care designed to meet the needs of a diverse array of seniors through its Medicare advantage plans. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Orange, California.

About LifeStance Health Group

LifeStance Health Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides outpatient mental health services to children, adolescents, adults, and geriatrics in the United States. The company offers patients a suite of mental health services, including psychiatric evaluations and treatment, psychological, and neuropsychological testing, as well as individual, family, and group therapy. It treats a range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, the company operates an outpatient mental health platform, as well as offers patient care virtually through its online delivery platform or in-person at its centers. LifeStance Health Group, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.