BIOLASE (BLTI) and LeMaitre Vascular (LMAT) Critical Survey

LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ: LMAT) and BIOLASE (NASDAQ:BLTI) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitabiliy, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LeMaitre Vascular and BIOLASE’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LeMaitre Vascular	$96.40 million	6.65	$22.72 million	$0.69	49.36
BIOLASE	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

LeMaitre Vascular has higher revenue and earnings than BIOLASE.

Dividends

LeMaitre Vascular pays an annual dividend of $0.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. BIOLASE does not pay a dividend. LeMaitre Vascular pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for LeMaitre Vascular and BIOLASE, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LeMaitre Vascular	0	4	3	0	2.43
BIOLASE	0	0	0	0	N/A

LeMaitre Vascular currently has a consensus target price of $28.60, suggesting a potential downside of 16.03%. Given LeMaitre Vascular’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe LeMaitre Vascular is more favorable than BIOLASE.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.1% of LeMaitre Vascular shares are held by institutional investors. 23.7% of LeMaitre Vascular shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares LeMaitre Vascular and BIOLASE’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LeMaitre Vascular	14.19%	15.02%	12.97%
BIOLASE	-37.78%	-81.51%	-41.72%

Summary

LeMaitre Vascular beats BIOLASE on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LeMaitre Vascular

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. is a provider of medical devices for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease. The Company develops, manufactures and markets medical devices and implants used primarily in the field of vascular surgery. It is engaged in the design, marketing, sales and technical support of medical devices and implants for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease industry segment. The Company’s product lines include valvulotomes, balloon catheters, carotid shunts, biologic vascular patches, radiopaque marking tape, anastomotic clips, remote endarterectomy devices, laparoscopic cholecystectomy devices, prosthetic vascular grafts, biologic vascular grafts and powered phlebectomy devices. Its portfolio of peripheral vascular devices consists of brand name products that are used in arteries and veins outside of the heart, including the Expandable LeMaitre Valvulotome, the Pruitt F3 Carotid Shunt, VascuTape Radiopaque Tape and the XenoSure biologic patch.

About BIOLASE

BIOLASE, Inc. (BIOLASE) is a medical device company that develops, manufactures, markets and sells laser systems in dentistry and medicine. The Company markets, sells, and distributes dental imaging equipment, including cone beam digital x-rays and computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) intra-oral scanners, in-office, chair-side milling machines and three-dimensional (3-D) printers. It offers two categories of laser system products: WaterLase (all-tissue) systems and Diode (soft tissue) systems. Its brand, WaterLase, uses a combination of water and laser energy to perform procedures performed using drills, scalpels, and other traditional dental instruments for cutting soft and hard tissue. It also offers its Diode laser systems to perform soft tissue, pain therapy, and cosmetic procedures, including teeth whitening. Its Waterlase and Diode systems use disposable laser tips of differing sizes and shapes depending on the procedures being performed.