Reviewing SANUWAVE Health (OTCMKTS:SNWV) and NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE)

SANUWAVE Health (OTCMKTS:SNWV) and NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for SANUWAVE Health and NeuroPace, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SANUWAVE Health	0	0	0	0	N/A
NeuroPace	0	1	6	0	2.86

NeuroPace has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 97.32%. Given NeuroPace’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe NeuroPace is more favorable than SANUWAVE Health.

Risk and Volatility

SANUWAVE Health has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NeuroPace has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SANUWAVE Health and NeuroPace’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SANUWAVE Health	$20.40 million	0.93	-$25.81 million	($0.01)	-1.60
NeuroPace	$69.07 million	2.95	-$32.96 million	($1.19)	-5.96

SANUWAVE Health has higher earnings, but lower revenue than NeuroPace. NeuroPace is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SANUWAVE Health, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares SANUWAVE Health and NeuroPace’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SANUWAVE Health	-77.00%	-3.81%	9.71%
NeuroPace	-45.61%	-173.62%	-30.89%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

42.5% of SANUWAVE Health shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.8% of NeuroPace shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.4% of SANUWAVE Health shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.2% of NeuroPace shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

NeuroPace beats SANUWAVE Health on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SANUWAVE Health

SANUWAVE Health, Inc., a shock wave technology company, researches, develops, and commercializes noninvasive, high-energy, and acoustic shock waves for regenerative medicine and other applications in the United States and internationally. Its shockwaves are used to produce a biological response resulting in the body healing itself through the repair and regeneration of tissue, musculoskeletal, and vascular structures. The company's pulsed acoustic cellular expression systems, including dermaPACE system for treating diabetic foot ulcers and other chronic wounds; orthoPACE system for treating tendinopathies and acute and nonunion fractures; and Profile is used to provide solution for pain management in sports medicine and physical therapy. Its portfolio of wound treatment solutions provides patients with a noninvasive technology that boosts the body's normal healing and tissue regeneration processes. In addition, the company offers UltraMIST, non-contact and non-thermal ultrasound therapy device used to treat diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, venous leg ulcers, deep tissue pressure injuries, and surgical wounds. SANUWAVE Health, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

About NeuroPace

NeuroPace, Inc. operates as a medical device company in the United States. The company develops RNS system, a brain-responsive neuromodulation system that delivers personalized, real-time treatment at the seizure source for treating medically refractory focal epilepsy. It also records continuous brain activity data and enables clinicians to monitor patients in person and remotely. Its RNS System includes RNS neurostimulator, cortical strip and depth leads, and Patient Remote Monitor, as well as other implantable and non-implantable accessories. The company sells its products to hospital facilities for initial RNS system implant procedures and for replacement procedures. NeuroPace, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.