Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) Competitors

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) and Harvard Bioscience (NASDAQ:HBIO) are both life sciences tools & services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and media sentiment.

Which has better valuation & earnings, TMO or HBIO?

Thermo Fisher Scientific has higher revenue and earnings than Harvard Bioscience. Harvard Bioscience is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Thermo Fisher Scientific, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Thermo Fisher Scientific	$42.90B	3.70	$6.34B	$17.05	24.68
Harvard Bioscience	$94.14M	0.22	-$12.40M	-$1.32	-0.36

Do analysts prefer TMO or HBIO?

Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus price target of $600.30, suggesting a potential upside of 42.68%. Harvard Bioscience has a consensus price target of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 539.66%. Given Harvard Bioscience's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Harvard Bioscience is more favorable than Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Thermo Fisher Scientific	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Harvard Bioscience	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is TMO or HBIO more profitable?

Thermo Fisher Scientific has a net margin of 15.19% compared to Harvard Bioscience's net margin of -63.51%. Thermo Fisher Scientific's return on equity of 17.15% beat Harvard Bioscience's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Thermo Fisher Scientific	15.19%	17.15%	8.47%
Harvard Bioscience	-63.51%	-4.96%	-2.24%

Does the media favor TMO or HBIO?

In the previous week, Thermo Fisher Scientific had 56 more articles in the media than Harvard Bioscience. MarketBeat recorded 70 mentions for Thermo Fisher Scientific and 14 mentions for Harvard Bioscience. Thermo Fisher Scientific's average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Harvard Bioscience's score of -0.22 indicating that Thermo Fisher Scientific is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Thermo Fisher Scientific	42 Very Positive mention(s)	10 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Harvard Bioscience	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility and risk, TMO or HBIO?

Thermo Fisher Scientific has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Harvard Bioscience has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of TMO or HBIO?

89.2% of Thermo Fisher Scientific shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.9% of Harvard Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Thermo Fisher Scientific shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of Harvard Bioscience shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Thermo Fisher Scientific beats Harvard Bioscience on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.