Critical Review: Unicharm (OTCMKTS:UNICY) & Prenetics Global (NASDAQ:PRE)

Unicharm (OTCMKTS:UNICY) and Prenetics Global (NASDAQ:PRE) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Unicharm and Prenetics Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Unicharm	6.33%	6.85%	5.01%
Prenetics Global	-62.45%	-20.33%	-15.42%

Volatility and Risk

Unicharm has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prenetics Global has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

25.0% of Prenetics Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of Prenetics Global shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Unicharm and Prenetics Global”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Unicharm	$6.32 billion	1.71	$436.93 million	$0.12	25.92
Prenetics Global	$92.39 million	3.40	-$37.71 million	($4.58)	-4.07

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Unicharm and Prenetics Global, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Unicharm	0	1	0	1	3.00
Prenetics Global	1	0	4	0	2.60

Prenetics Global has a consensus target price of $34.25, suggesting a potential upside of 83.74%. Given Prenetics Global’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Prenetics Global is more favorable than Unicharm.

Summary

Unicharm beats Prenetics Global on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Unicharm

Unicharm Corporation engages in the manufacturing and sale of wellness, feminine, baby and children, kirei, and pet care products in Japan and internationally. The company's baby and child care products, including disposable diapers and wipes under the Moony, MamyPoko, Oyasumiman, and Torepanman brands; feminine care products comprise napkins, tampons, panty liners, sanitary short, panty liners, and other feminine care products under the Sofy, Center-In, and Unicharm brand names; and wellness care products include napkin-type incontinence pads, pants-type diapers, tape-type diapers, pants-type specialized urine pads, and tape-type specialized urine pads under the Lifree and Charmnap brand. It also provides masks under the Unicharm brand; home care products, including cleaning sheets under the Wave brand name; cosmetic cotton and wet wipes under the Silcot brand; and paper towels under the Cook Up brand name. In addition, the company offers pet care products that include pet foods, excrement cleanup sheets, system toilets, and disposable diapers under the Grand Deli, Best Balance, Physicalife Dog, Silver Plate, Aiken Genki, Manner Wear, Deo Sheet, Silver Spoon, AllWell, Physicalife Cat, Deo Toilet, Deo Sand, Deo Clean, and Neko Genki brands; and deodorizing beads. Further, it is involved in the manufacture and sale of industrial materials related products, etc., as well as food-packaging materials. Unicharm Corporation was incorporated in 1941 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Prenetics Global

Prenetics Global Limited, a genomics-driven health sciences company, engages in revolutionizing prevention, early detection, and treatment. It offers CircleDNA, a prevention arm that uses whole exome sequencing to offer comprehensive consumer DNA test. The company also, through its joint venture, Insighta, engages in pioneering multi-cancer early detection technologies. In addition, the company, through its equity interests in ACT Genomics Holdings Company Limited, is involved in genomic profiling of solid tumors through ACTOnco. Prenetics Global Limited was founded in 2007 and is based in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.