Critical Comparison: Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD) & Solesence (NASDAQ:SLSN)

Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD) and Solesence (NASDAQ:SLSN) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Waldencast and Solesence, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waldencast	1	1	5	0	2.57
Solesence	0	1	0	0	2.00

Waldencast presently has a consensus price target of $4.97, suggesting a potential upside of 167.28%. Given Waldencast’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Waldencast is more favorable than Solesence.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Waldencast and Solesence”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waldencast	$273.87 million	0.83	-$42.44 million	N/A	N/A
Solesence	$64.42 million	3.90	$4.24 million	$0.07	50.86

Solesence has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Waldencast.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

42.0% of Waldencast shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.2% of Solesence shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of Solesence shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Waldencast and Solesence’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waldencast	N/A	N/A	N/A
Solesence	8.13%	32.99%	9.74%

Volatility and Risk

Waldencast has a beta of -0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 139% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Solesence has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Solesence beats Waldencast on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waldencast

Waldencast plc operates in the beauty and wellness business. The company engages in developing, acquiring, accelerating, and scaling various brands. It provides cosmetic, over-the-counter, and prescription products under the Obagi Medical, Obagi Clinical, and Obagi Professional brands; and a Skintrinsiq device for use in facial treatments that is used by physicians' offices, spas, and aestheticians. The company also offers clean makeup products under the Milk Makeup brand. It sells its products to dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and other physicians who focuses on aesthetic and therapeutic skincare, including physicians on site at medical spas, through its direct sales force, as well as through distribution partners. The company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.

About Solesence

Nanophase Technologies Corporation provides engineered materials, formulation development, and commercial manufacturing with an integrated family of technologies in the United States. It offers surface engineered zinc oxide and titanium dioxide for sunscreens and personal care products; fully formulated cosmetics, sun care, and skin care under the Solésence brand name; and advanced materials products, such as architectural coatings, industrial coatings, abrasion-resistant additives, plastics additives, medical diagnostics, and various surface finishing technologies applications. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Romeoville, Illinois.