Reviewing Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) & ReWalk Robotics (NASDAQ:LFWD)

Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) and ReWalk Robotics (NASDAQ:LFWD) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Smith & Nephew has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ReWalk Robotics has a beta of 1.73, meaning that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Smith & Nephew and ReWalk Robotics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smith & Nephew	0	4	0	0	2.00
ReWalk Robotics	0	0	3	0	3.00

Smith & Nephew presently has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.87%. ReWalk Robotics has a consensus price target of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 466.04%. Given ReWalk Robotics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ReWalk Robotics is more favorable than Smith & Nephew.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Smith & Nephew and ReWalk Robotics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smith & Nephew	$5.81 billion	2.18	$263.00 million	$2.16	13.42
ReWalk Robotics	$25.66 million	0.66	-$22.13 million	($3.31)	-0.48

Smith & Nephew has higher revenue and earnings than ReWalk Robotics. ReWalk Robotics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smith & Nephew, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Smith & Nephew and ReWalk Robotics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smith & Nephew	N/A	N/A	N/A
ReWalk Robotics	-77.21%	-43.02%	-31.53%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

25.6% of Smith & Nephew shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of ReWalk Robotics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Smith & Nephew shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of ReWalk Robotics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Smith & Nephew beats ReWalk Robotics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT. The Advanced Wound Management segment includes advanced wound care, advanced wound bioactives, and advanced wound devices businesses. The company was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Watford, the United Kingdom.

About ReWalk Robotics

ReWalk Robotics Ltd., a medical device company, designs, develops, and commercializes technologies that enable mobility and wellness in rehabilitation and daily life for individuals with physical and neurological conditions in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It offers ReWalk personal exoskeleton and rehabilitation exoskeleton devices; ReStore, a soft exo-suit intended for use in the rehabilitation of individuals with lower limb disability due to stroke; AlterG Anti-Gravity System for use in physical and neurological rehabilitation and athletic training; MyoCycle devices; and ReBoot, a personal soft exo-suit for home and community use by individuals post-stroke. The company markets and sells its products directly to institutions and individuals, as well as through third-party distributors. The company was formerly known as Argo Medical Technologies Ltd. ReWalk Robotics Ltd. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Yokneam Illit, Israel.