Reviewing Epigenomics (OTCMKTS:EPGNY) and ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR)

Epigenomics (OTCMKTS:EPGNY) and ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.6% of ICON Public shares are held by institutional investors. 44.0% of ICON Public shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Epigenomics and ICON Public, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Epigenomics	0	0	0	0	N/A
ICON Public	0	0	11	1	3.08

ICON Public has a consensus target price of $351.60, suggesting a potential upside of 23.10%. Given ICON Public’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ICON Public is more favorable than Epigenomics.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Epigenomics and ICON Public”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Epigenomics	N/A	N/A	N/A	($3.05)	-0.78
ICON Public	$8.33 billion	2.83	$612.34 million	$8.22	34.75

ICON Public has higher revenue and earnings than Epigenomics. Epigenomics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ICON Public, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Epigenomics and ICON Public’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Epigenomics	N/A	N/A	N/A
ICON Public	8.57%	12.06%	6.59%

Summary

ICON Public beats Epigenomics on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Epigenomics

Epigenomics AG, a molecular diagnostics company, focuses on liquid biopsy for the early detection of cancer. Its lead product is Epi proColon, a blood-based test for the early detection of colorectal cancer in the United States, Europe, and China. The company's products also include hepatocellular carcinoma blood test; Epi proColon, a liquid biopsy test for detection of colorectal cancer; and Epi BiSKit, a pre-analytical tool, which provides a set of reagents for the preparation of bisulfite-converted DNA. Its research and development activities identify suitable biomarkers in human tissue and developing and patenting the corresponding in vitro diagnostic blood tests. Epigenomics AG was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.

About ICON Public

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. It also offers clinical development services, including all phases of development, peri and post approval, data solutions, and site and patient access services; clinical trial management, consulting, and contract staffing services; and commercial services comprising clinical development strategy, planning and trial design, full study execution, and post-market commercialization. In addition, the company provides laboratory services, including bionanalytical, biomarker, vaccine, good manufacturing practice, and central laboratory services, as well as full-service and functional service partnerships to customers. Further, it offers adaptive trials, cardiac safety solutions, clinical and scientific operations, consulting and advisory, commercial positioning, decentralized and hybrid clinical trials, early clinical, laboratories, language services, medical imaging, real world intelligence, site and patient, and strategic solutions. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, as well as government and public health organizations. ICON Public Limited Company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.