Head to Head Survey: Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) and Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID)

Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) and Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Rapid Micro Biosystems and Charles River Laboratories International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rapid Micro Biosystems	$33.59 million	2.31	-$47.12 million	($1.12)	-1.38
Charles River Laboratories International	$4.02 billion	3.41	-$144.34 million	($4.85)	-59.06

Rapid Micro Biosystems has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Charles River Laboratories International. Charles River Laboratories International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rapid Micro Biosystems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Rapid Micro Biosystems has a beta of 1.44, suggesting that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Charles River Laboratories International has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Rapid Micro Biosystems and Charles River Laboratories International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rapid Micro Biosystems	1	0	2	0	2.33
Charles River Laboratories International	1	3	12	0	2.69

Rapid Micro Biosystems presently has a consensus price target of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 287.10%. Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus price target of $255.65, suggesting a potential downside of 10.75%. Given Rapid Micro Biosystems’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Rapid Micro Biosystems is more favorable than Charles River Laboratories International.

Profitability

This table compares Rapid Micro Biosystems and Charles River Laboratories International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rapid Micro Biosystems	-145.56%	-177.04%	-73.12%
Charles River Laboratories International	-5.96%	15.75%	6.51%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.6% of Rapid Micro Biosystems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Charles River Laboratories International shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.7% of Rapid Micro Biosystems shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Charles River Laboratories International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Charles River Laboratories International beats Rapid Micro Biosystems on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rapid Micro Biosystems

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc., a life sciences technology company, provides products for the detection of microbial contamination in the manufacture of pharmaceutical, medical devices, and personal care products in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Growth Direct platform, which includes Growth Direct system, proprietary consumables, lab information management system connection software, and customer support and validation services. Its platform automates and modernizes the manual microbial quality control (MQC) testing workflows for therapeutic modalities, such as biologics, vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and sterile injectables. The company also provides onsite technical training services. Its solutions are used in environmental monitoring, water, bioburden, and sterility release testing applications. In addition, the company offers RMBNucleus software for the Growth Direct system; RMBNucleus Mold Alarm signals at the first sign of mold detection; RMBNucleus Central Manager portal streamlines coordination of multiple instruments; and Growth Direct LIMS connection software. Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. was formerly known as Genomic Profiling Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. in January 2007. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts.

About Charles River Laboratories International

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing). The RMS segment produces and sells rodents, and purpose-bred rats and mice for use by researchers. This segment also provides a range of services to assist its clients in supporting the use of research models in research and screening pre-clinical drug candidates, including research models, genetically engineered models and services, insourcing solutions, and research animal diagnostic services. The DSA segment offers early and in vivo discovery services for the identification and validation of novel targets, chemical compounds, and antibodies through delivery of preclinical drug and therapeutic candidates ready for safety assessment; and safety assessment services, such as toxicology, pathology, safety pharmacology, bioanalysis, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics services. The Manufacturing segment provides in vitro methods for conventional and rapid quality control testing of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceuticals and consumer products. This segment also offers specialized testing of biologics that are outsourced by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It also provides contract vivarium operation services to biopharmaceutical clients. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.