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AZTA or IQV or XRAY
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Azenta (AZTA) vs. IQVIA Holdings (IQV) vs. DENTSPLY SIRONA (XRAY) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- AZTA has faced significant pressure, with shares down over 40% YTD amid earnings misses and operational challenges in life sciences sample management.
- IQV stands out with robust Q1 revenue growth of 8.4% and adjusted EPS beats, driven by AI-enhanced commercial solutions, though YTD returns reflect broader sector volatility.
- XRAY reported flat Q1 sales but beat expectations, launching AI diagnostic tools while advancing restructuring for improved margins.
- Relative performance shows IQV leading in market cap ($30B) and revenue scale, contrasting AZTA's ($860M) sharp declines and XRAY's ($2.3B) stabilization efforts.
- All three operate in healthcare/life sciences but differ in focus: sample storage (AZTA), data analytics (IQV), and dental products (XRAY).
- Analyst targets suggest upside potential across the board, with IQV at $230 average amid positive momentum.
Introduction
This stock comparison examines AZTA, IQV, and XRAY, three healthcare-adjacent firms navigating distinct challenges in life sciences, analytics, and dental markets. Investors tracking relative performance in the sector may find value here, as recent quarters highlight contrasts in earnings execution, AI integration, and growth trajectories. Traders focused on momentum could note volatility in smaller caps like AZTA versus stability in larger IQV, while long-term holders assess restructuring impacts at XRAY. This analysis draws on verifiable data to illuminate market positioning amid evolving healthcare demands.
AZTA Overview and Recent Performance
Azenta, Inc. (AZTA) specializes in biological and chemical sample management solutions for the life sciences industry, operating through Sample Management Solutions and Multiomics segments. Its offerings include automated storage, cryogenic systems, and genomic services supporting drug development and research.
Recent market activity has pressured AZTA shares, down over 40% YTD and 25% over the past year, trading around $19 with a market cap near $860M. Q2 fiscal 2026 results showed revenue of $145M but an EPS miss (-$0.04 vs. +$0.14 expected), attributed to weaker volumes and project costs. Sentiment reflects operational hurdles and biotech spending caution, though updated full-year guidance and a long-range plan to 2029 signal strategic focus. Analysts maintain an average target of $35, citing rebound potential despite high beta (1.43) and negative margins.
IQV Overview and Recent Performance
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) delivers clinical research services, commercial insights, and healthcare intelligence across Technology & Analytics, Research & Development, and Contract Sales segments, serving life sciences globally.
In recent weeks, IQV has demonstrated resilience, with Q1 2026 revenue hitting $4.15B (up 8.4% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $2.90 beating estimates. Shares hover near $177, with a $30B market cap, though YTD and 1-year returns show mixed results amid sector headwinds. Growth in AI-driven Commercial Solutions has bolstered sentiment, with reaffirmed full-year guidance underscoring execution strength. Factors like real-world data demand and NVIDIA-powered platforms have supported positioning, despite a forward P/E around 22.
XRAY Overview and Recent Performance
DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. (XRAY) is the world's largest manufacturer of professional dental products, spanning Connected Technology, Essential Dental, Orthodontic/Implant, and Wellspect Healthcare segments with cloud-enabled solutions.
XRAY shares, around $11 with a $2.3B market cap, have stabilized YTD (flat) after longer-term declines, with 1-year returns down 15%. Q1 2026 sales of $880M met flat YoY but beat forecasts, with adjusted EPS at $0.27 amid restructuring. Key influences include the launch of FDA-cleared AI diagnostic tool Smart View-Detect and U.S. distribution expansion, offsetting volume softness and tariff impacts. Guidance reaffirms $3.5B-$3.6B sales, with cost savings targeted at $120M annually to enhance margins.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
AZTA, IQV, and XRAY share healthcare exposure but diverge in business models: AZTA's niche sample storage faces biotech cyclicality, IQV's data analytics benefits from recurring R&D contracts, and XRAY's dental consumables tie to procedural volumes.
Growth drivers contrast sharply: IQV leverages AI for 8%+ revenue expansion, while AZTA and XRAY grapple with flat/declining sales amid destocking. Recent momentum favors IQV post-earnings beat, versus AZTA's post-earnings drop and XRAY's stability.
Risk factors include AZTA's high volatility (beta 1.43, negative EBITDA), IQV's debt load ($16B), and XRAY's restructuring execution. Valuation sensitivity shows IQV at 22x P/E with scale advantages, AZTA at elevated multiples despite losses, and XRAY undervalued but margin-challenged. Market sentiment tilts toward IQV's consistency over peers' transitions.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently favors IQV based on trend consistency from Q1 beats, AI catalysts in commercial growth, and superior relative positioning with $30B scale versus AZTA's volatility and XRAY's flat trajectory. Probabilistic edges lie in IQV's reaffirmed guidance and data moat, though monitoring sector risks remains key.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full Disclaimers and Limitations.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
AZTA’s FA Score shows that 0 FA rating(s) are green whileIQV’s FA Score has 0 green FA rating(s), and XRAY’s FA Score reflects 1 green FA rating(s).
- AZTA’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
- IQV’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
- XRAY’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
AZTA’s TA Score shows that 5 TA indicator(s) are bullish while IQV’s TA Score has 6 bullish TA indicator(s), and XRAY’s TA Score reflects 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- AZTA’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
- IQV’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 3 bearish.
- XRAY’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
AZTA (@Pharmaceuticals: Other) experienced а -16.73% price change this week, while IQV (@Medical Specialties) price change was -5.37% , and XRAY (@Pharmaceuticals: Other) price fluctuated -8.45% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Pharmaceuticals: Other industry was -4.52%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -4.78%, and the average quarterly price growth was +19.71%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Medical Specialties industry was +10.58%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +4.66%, and the average quarterly price growth was -5.70%.
Reported Earning Dates
AZTA is expected to report earnings on Aug 11, 2026.
IQV is expected to report earnings on Jul 28, 2026.
XRAY is expected to report earnings on Jul 30, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Pharmaceuticals: Other (-4.52% weekly)Pharmaceuticals (Other) comprise companies that are involved in the discovery, development or manufacturing of therapeutic and preventative medicines. They often collaborate with or acquire other pharmaceutical/healthcare firms. Examples of companies in this segment include Bausch Health Companies Inc., Icon Plc and Perrigo Company Plc.
@Medical Specialties (+10.58% weekly)Medical specialties are companies that make equipment used by the health care industry. Equipment manufactured and distributed by these companies include dialysis machines, blood analysis equipment, surgical equipment, dental instruments, and diagnostic tools, among other items. Large companies typically aim to produce and distribute high-quality products across a broad market spectrum. Smaller firms are more likely to specialize in a particular market segment. Due to the industry’s close association with medical treatments, they typically have low sensitivity to macroeconomic fluctuations. Within this industry, Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic Plc and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. are some of the companies with multi-billion market capitalizations in the U.S. stock markets.
| AZTA | IQV | XRAY | |
| Capitalization | 738M | 28.2B | 2.02B |
| EBITDA | 36.6M | 3.52B | -127M |
| Gain YTD | -51.879 | -24.972 | -11.899 |
| P/E Ratio | 42.43 | 21.01 | N/A |
| Revenue | 596M | 16.6B | 3.68B |
| Total Cash | 381M | 2.1B | 190M |
| Total Debt | 55.7M | 16.1B | 2.33B |
AZTA | IQV | XRAY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 54 | 12 | 63 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 67 Overvalued | 66 Overvalued | 4 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 93 | 42 | 97 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 93 | 58 | 64 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 84 | 37 | 82 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
XRAY's Valuation (4) in the Medical Specialties industry is somewhat better than the same rating for IQV (66) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for AZTA (67) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry. This means that XRAY's stock grew somewhat faster than IQV’s and somewhat faster than AZTA’s over the last 12 months.
XRAY's Profit vs Risk Rating (100) in the Medical Specialties industry is in the same range as IQV (100) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry, and is in the same range as AZTA (100) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry. This means that XRAY's stock grew similarly to IQV’s and similarly to AZTA’s over the last 12 months.
IQV's SMR Rating (42) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry is somewhat better than the same rating for AZTA (93) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for XRAY (97) in the Medical Specialties industry. This means that IQV's stock grew somewhat faster than AZTA’s and somewhat faster than XRAY’s over the last 12 months.
IQV's Price Growth Rating (58) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry is in the same range as XRAY (64) in the Medical Specialties industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for AZTA (93) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry. This means that IQV's stock grew similarly to XRAY’s and somewhat faster than AZTA’s over the last 12 months.
IQV's P/E Growth Rating (37) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry is somewhat better than the same rating for XRAY (82) in the Medical Specialties industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for AZTA (84) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry. This means that IQV's stock grew somewhat faster than XRAY’s and somewhat faster than AZTA’s over the last 12 months.
| AZTA | IQV | XRAY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 73% | N/A | 2 days ago 60% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 71% | 2 days ago 68% | 2 days ago 55% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 85% | 2 days ago 61% | 2 days ago 74% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 87% | 2 days ago 67% | 2 days ago 72% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 80% | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 75% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 82% | 2 days ago 70% | 2 days ago 74% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 9 days ago 70% | 9 days ago 58% | 16 days ago 54% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 82% | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 73% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 76% | 2 days ago 77% | 2 days ago 45% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 76% | 2 days ago 51% | 2 days ago 65% |
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AZTA and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, AZTA has been loosely correlated with XRAY. These tickers have moved in lockstep 63% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if AZTA jumps, then XRAY could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To AZTA | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZTA | 100% | -4.73% | ||
| XRAY - AZTA | 63% Loosely correlated | -3.27% | ||
| IQV - AZTA | 60% Loosely correlated | -0.91% | ||
| RVTY - AZTA | 59% Loosely correlated | -2.50% | ||
| A - AZTA | 59% Loosely correlated | -1.38% | ||
| MTD - AZTA | 59% Loosely correlated | -0.99% | ||
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IQV and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, IQV has been closely correlated with CRL. These tickers have moved in lockstep 76% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if IQV jumps, then CRL could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To IQV | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IQV | 100% | -0.91% | ||
| CRL - IQV | 76% Closely correlated | -5.20% | ||
| TMO - IQV | 72% Closely correlated | -2.20% | ||
| RVTY - IQV | 69% Closely correlated | -2.50% | ||
| MEDP - IQV | 69% Closely correlated | -0.95% | ||
| A - IQV | 65% Loosely correlated | -1.38% | ||
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