Financial Survey: Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) and Personalis (NASDAQ:PSNL)
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemPersonalis (NASDAQ:PSNL – Get Free Report) and Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC – 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 earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.
Volatility & Risk
Personalis has a beta of 2.31, indicating that its share price is 131% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sotera Health has a beta of 1.77, indicating that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations for Personalis and Sotera Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Personalis | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2.30 |
| Sotera Health | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.73 |
Personalis presently has a consensus price target of $14.54, indicating a potential downside of 12.28%. Sotera Health has a consensus price target of $21.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.53%. Given Sotera Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Sotera Health is more favorable than Personalis.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Personalis and Sotera Health”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Personalis | $69.65 million | 24.91 | -$81.27 million | ($1.09) | -15.20 |
| Sotera Health | $1.16 billion | 4.52 | $77.94 million | $0.57 | 32.37 |
Sotera Health has higher revenue and earnings than Personalis. Personalis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sotera Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
61.9% of Personalis shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of Sotera Health shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Personalis shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Sotera Health shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Personalis and Sotera Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Personalis | -153.84% | -46.47% | -35.30% |
| Sotera Health | 13.44% | 40.12% | 7.55% |
Summary
Sotera Health beats Personalis on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Personalis
Personalis, Inc. develops and markets advanced cancer genomic tests and analytics primarily in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. Its tests and analytics are used by pharmaceutical companies for translational research, biomarker discovery, and development of personalized cancer therapies, as well as advanced tests are used by physicians to detect cancer recurrence, monitor cancer evolution, and uncover insights for therapy selection. The company offers NeXT Personal, a tumor-informed liquid biopsy test for detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) and recurrence in cancer; and ImmunoID NeXT, a tissue-based test that combines whole exome (DNA) and whole transcriptome (RNA) sequencing data with advanced analytics to provide a multi-dimensional view of the tumor and the tumor microenvironment from a single sample. It also provides NeXT Personal Dx, a tumor-informed liquid biopsy test for detection of MRD and recurrence in cancer; and NeXT Dx, a comprehensive tumor profiling test that unlocks the entire exome (DNA) and transcriptome (RNA) with matched tumor-normal analysis. In addition, the company performs whole exome sequencing (WES) of cancer tissue and matched blood samples for diagnostic companies as an input to their products; and whole genome sequencing (WGS) on human samples for research projects, such as population sequencing initiatives, as well as offers sequencing and data analysis services to support population sequencing initiatives. Its customers include pharmaceutical companies, biopharmaceutical companies, diagnostics companies, universities, non-profits, government entities, and patients. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.
About Sotera Health
Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems. The company also provides microbiological and analytical chemistry testing, as well as technical assistance, regulatory consulting, and advisory services. It serves medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food safety, agricultural products, cancer treatment, and high-performance materials industries, as well as commercial, advanced, and specialty application industries. The company was formerly known as Sotera Health Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Sotera Health Company in October 2020. Sotera Health Company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio.