Analyzing Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD) & Dermata Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DRMA)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Waldencast and Dermata Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

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

Waldencast currently has a consensus target price of $2.33, indicating a potential upside of 82.29%. Dermata Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 624.64%. Given Dermata Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Dermata Therapeutics is more favorable than Waldencast.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waldencast	N/A	N/A	N/A
Dermata Therapeutics	N/A	-151.26%	-123.05%

Volatility & Risk

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

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waldencast	$272.07 million	0.61	-$229.75 million	N/A	N/A
Dermata Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$7.56 million	($4.39)	-0.31

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

Summary

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

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.

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.