Financial Review: Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD) and Dermata Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DRMA)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

8.7% of Dermata Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.0% of Waldencast shares are held by institutional investors. 21.9% of Dermata Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Waldencast shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Dermata Therapeutics and Waldencast, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dermata Therapeutics	1	0	1	0	2.00
Waldencast	1	1	2	0	2.25

Dermata Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 584.93%. Waldencast has a consensus target price of $2.33, suggesting a potential upside of 72.84%. Given Dermata Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Dermata Therapeutics is more favorable than Waldencast.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dermata Therapeutics and Waldencast”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dermata Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$7.56 million	($4.39)	-0.33
Waldencast	$272.07 million	0.64	-$229.75 million	N/A	N/A

Dermata Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Waldencast.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dermata Therapeutics	N/A	-166.66%	-130.13%
Waldencast	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Dermata Therapeutics has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waldencast has a beta of -0.13, suggesting that its stock price is 113% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Waldencast beats Dermata Therapeutics on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dermata Therapeutics

Dermata Therapeutics, Inc., a late-stage medical dermatology company, focuses on identifying, developing, and commercializing pharmaceutical product candidates for the treatment of medical and aesthetic skin conditions and diseases. The company's lead product candidate is DMT310, which has completed Phase IIb clinical trial for treatment of moderate-to-severe acne; and Phase Ib proof of concept (POC) trial for Mild-to-Moderate Psoriasis, as well as is in a Phase 2 clinical trial for treatment of moderate-to-severe rosacea. It is also developing DMT410 that has completed Phase Ib POC trials for the treatment of anxillary hyperhidrosis and aesthetic conditions. Dermata Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

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.