Comparing School Specialty (OTCMKTS:SCOO) and Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX)

Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX) and School Specialty (OTCMKTS:SCOO) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.4% of Olaplex shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Olaplex shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.0% of School Specialty shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Olaplex and School Specialty”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Olaplex	$422.67 million	2.61	$19.52 million	N/A	N/A
School Specialty	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Olaplex has higher revenue and earnings than School Specialty.

Profitability

This table compares Olaplex and School Specialty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Olaplex	-1.18%	1.31%	0.70%
School Specialty	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Olaplex and School Specialty, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Olaplex	1	3	2	1	2.43
School Specialty	0	0	0	0	0.00

Olaplex presently has a consensus price target of $1.81, indicating a potential upside of 9.85%. Given Olaplex’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Olaplex is more favorable than School Specialty.

Summary

Olaplex beats School Specialty on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Olaplex

Olaplex Holdings, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells hair care products in the United States and internationally. The company offers hair care shampoos and conditioners for use in treatment, maintenance, and protection of hair, as well as oil, moisture mask, and nourishing hair serum. It provides hair care products to professional hair salons, retailers, and everyday consumers. The company distributes its products through professional distributors in salons, directly to retailers for sale in their physical stores, e-commerce sites, and its website, Olaplex.com, as well as third party e-commerce platforms. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Santa Barbara, California.

About School Specialty

School Specialty, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides supplies, furniture, technology products, and curriculum solutions to the education marketplace in the United States and Canada. The company’s Distribution segment offers office products, classroom supplies, janitorial and sanitation supplies, school equipment, school and student safety and security products and services, physical education products, art supplies and paper, and others; physical education programs, solutions, resources, and equipment to improve student and staff wellness; and science education products, supplemental curriculum, and lab equipment and supplies. It also provides supplemental learning materials, teaching resources, classroom libraries, and manipulatives; intervention products; educator-inspired quality audio technology products, including multi-media, audio visual, and presentation equipment for the PreK-12 education market; and school-specific furniture and equipment for in-school, in-classroom, and outdoor use, as well as project management and design services for school refurbishment and new construction projects. This segment offers its products under the Childcraft, Sax Arts & Crafts, Califone, Classroom Select, Sportime, Abilitations, Hammond & Stephens, Brodhead Garrett, School Smart, Royal Seating, Projects by Design, CPO Science, Frey Scientific, Educator’s Publishing Service, Wordly Wise 3000, Explode the Code, ThinkMath!, SSI Guardian, Making Connections, S.P.I.R.E, Buckle Down, and Coach brands. Its Curriculum segment develops and sells standards-based curriculum science products, such as laboratory supplies and equipment, and furniture under the FOSS, Frey Scientific, Delta Science Module, Delta Education, CPO Science, and Neo/SCI brand names. The company offers its products through its sales force, catalogs, and its proprietary e-commerce Websites. School Specialty, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Greenville, Wisconsin.