Analyzing SeaStar Medical (NASDAQ:ICU) & Aethlon Medical (NASDAQ:AEMD)

Aethlon Medical (NASDAQ:AEMD) and SeaStar Medical (NASDAQ:ICU) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Aethlon Medical and SeaStar Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aethlon Medical	0	0	1	0	3.00
SeaStar Medical	0	0	0	0	0.00

Aethlon Medical presently has a consensus price target of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,106.90%. Given Aethlon Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Aethlon Medical is more favorable than SeaStar Medical.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

2.0% of Aethlon Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.7% of SeaStar Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Aethlon Medical shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of SeaStar Medical shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Aethlon Medical and SeaStar Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aethlon Medical	N/A	-160.36%	-115.74%
SeaStar Medical	N/A	N/A	-627.49%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Aethlon Medical and SeaStar Medical”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aethlon Medical	$570,000.00	14.21	-$12.21 million	($2.82)	-0.21
SeaStar Medical	$68,000.00	135.20	-$26.23 million	($11.63)	-0.18

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

Volatility and Risk

Aethlon Medical has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SeaStar Medical has a beta of -1.13, meaning that its share price is 213% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Aethlon Medical beats SeaStar Medical on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical, Inc., a medical therapeutic company, focuses on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases in the United States. It develops Hemopurifier, a clinical-stage immunotherapeutic device that removes tumor-derived exosomes and life-threatening viruses and use in organ transplantation. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in San Diego, California.

About SeaStar Medical

SeaStar Medical Holding Corporation, a medical device company, develops a platform therapy to reduce the consequences of hyperinflammation on vital organs in the United States. The company offers inflammatory response to fend off infections and repair damaged tissue in the body. It is also developing products in various therapeutic areas, including pediatric and adult acute kidney injury on CRRT; cardiorenal syndrome in congestive heart failure; myocardial stunning in end stage renal disease; and hepatorenal syndrome. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.