Head-To-Head Review: Medifast (NYSE:MED) & Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALDW)

Medifast (NYSE:MED) and Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALDW) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Medifast and Waldencast, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medifast	1	2	0	0	1.67
Waldencast	0	0	0	0	0.00

Medifast presently has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.95%. Given Medifast’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Medifast is more favorable than Waldencast.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medifast	$385.79 million	0.37	-$18.67 million	($2.33)	-5.42
Waldencast	$272.07 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Waldencast has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Medifast.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.5% of Medifast shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Medifast shares are held by company 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 Medifast and Waldencast’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medifast	-8.08%	-6.69%	-5.25%
Waldencast	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Medifast beats Waldencast on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Medifast

Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of weight loss, weight management, and healthy living products in the United States and the Asia-Pacific. It offers bars, puffs, cereal, crunchers, drinks, hearty choices, oatmeal, pancakes, pudding, soft serve, shakes, smoothies, soft bakes, and soups under the OPTAVIA, OPTAVIA ACTIVE, and Optimal Health brand names. The company markets its products through point-of-sale transactions, as well as through ecommerce platform. Medifast, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

About Waldencast

Waldencast plc operates in the beauty and wellness industry. It engages in developing, acquiring, accelerating, and scaling various brands. The company 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. It also offers clean makeup products under the Milk Makeup brand. The company 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. Waldencast plc was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in White Plains, New York.