Financial Comparison: Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) and Pharma-Bio Serv (OTCMKTS:PBSV)

Pharma-Bio Serv (OTCMKTS:PBSV) and Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Pharma-Bio Serv and Charles River Associates”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pharma-Bio Serv	$9.51 million	1.40	-$780,000.00	($0.01)	-58.00
Charles River Associates	$687.41 million	1.97	$46.65 million	$8.32	24.79

Charles River Associates has higher revenue and earnings than Pharma-Bio Serv. Pharma-Bio Serv is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Charles River Associates, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Pharma-Bio Serv and Charles River Associates’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pharma-Bio Serv	-0.91%	-0.68%	-0.56%
Charles River Associates	7.74%	26.33%	9.20%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.1% of Charles River Associates shares are held by institutional investors. 12.6% of Pharma-Bio Serv shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Charles River Associates shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Pharma-Bio Serv has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Charles River Associates has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Pharma-Bio Serv and Charles River Associates, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pharma-Bio Serv	0	0	0	0	0.00
Charles River Associates	0	0	2	0	3.00

Charles River Associates has a consensus target price of $239.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.88%. Given Charles River Associates’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Charles River Associates is more favorable than Pharma-Bio Serv.

Summary

Charles River Associates beats Pharma-Bio Serv on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pharma-Bio Serv

Pharma-Bio Serv, Inc. operates as a compliance and technology transfer services consulting firm in Puerto Rico, the United States, Europe, Brazil, and internationally. The company provides technical compliance consulting services comprising regulatory compliance, validation, technology transfer, engineering, project management, and process support for the pharmaceutical, chemical manufacturing, biotechnology, medical device, cosmetic, food industries, and allied products companies. Pharma-Bio Serv, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Dorado, Puerto Rico.

About Charles River Associates

CRA International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues. The company also offers consulting services, including research and analysis, expert testimony, and support in litigation and regulatory proceedings in the areas of finance, accounting, economics, insurance, and forensic accounting and investigations to corporate clients and attorneys. In addition, it offers management consulting services comprising strategy development, performance improvement, corporate strategy and portfolio analysis, estimation of market demand, environmental, social and corporate governance and sustainability strategy and analysis, design and implementation of auction and bidding, new product pricing strategies, survey and market research, valuation of intellectual property and other assets, assessment of competitors’ actions, and analysis of new sources of supply. The company serves various industries, including communications and media; consumer, health, and wellness products; energy; entertainment and leisure; financial services; healthcare; life sciences; manufacturing and industries; natural resources; retail and distribution; technology; and transportation. CRA International, Inc. was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.