Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) versus BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) Head-To-Head Review

BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) and Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.2% of BioLife Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of Perrigo shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of BioLife Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Perrigo shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

BioLife Solutions has a beta of 1.97, suggesting that its share price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Perrigo has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for BioLife Solutions and Perrigo, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioLife Solutions	1	1	3	0	2.40
Perrigo	1	4	1	0	2.00

BioLife Solutions currently has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 43.50%. Perrigo has a consensus price target of $19.33, suggesting a potential upside of 80.77%. Given Perrigo’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Perrigo is more favorable than BioLife Solutions.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BioLife Solutions and Perrigo”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioLife Solutions	$96.21 million	11.32	-$4.59 million	($0.08)	-278.75
Perrigo	$4.25 billion	0.35	-$1.43 billion	($13.10)	-0.82

BioLife Solutions has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Perrigo. BioLife Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Perrigo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares BioLife Solutions and Perrigo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioLife Solutions	-2.80%	1.81%	1.65%
Perrigo	-43.50%	9.96%	3.90%

Summary

BioLife Solutions beats Perrigo on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets bioproduction tools and services for the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company’s products are used in the basic and applied research, and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies. It offers proprietary biopreservation media products, including HypoThermosol FRS and CryoStor Freeze Media that are formulated to mitigate preservation-induced, delayed-onset cell damage and death; bioproduction tools, such as human platelet lysates for cell expansion and CellSeal closed system vials that are used in CGT; and the ThawSTAR line that comprises of a family of automated thawing devices for frozen cell and gene therapies packaged in cryovials and cryobags. The company also provides cryogenic freezer technology for controlled rate freezing and cryogenic storage of biologic materials; ultra-low temperature mechanical freezers; evo shipping containers that are cloud-connected passive storage and transport containers for temperature-sensitive biologics and pharmaceuticals; liquid nitrogen laboratory freezers, cryogenic equipment, and accessories; and biological and pharmaceutical storage and transport services. It markets and sells its products directly, as well as through third party distributors. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Bothell, Washington.

About Perrigo

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers. It also offers healthy lifestyle products, such as smoking cessation, well-being, and weight management products; skin care products consisting of dermatological care, scar management, lice treatment, and other products for various skin conditions; women's health products comprising feminine hygiene and contraceptives; vitamins, minerals, and supplements; rare diseases business; and other miscellaneous self-care products. The company sells its products under the Compeed, Dr. Fresh, Firefly, Good Sense, Good Start, Mederma, Nasonex, Plackers, Prevacid24HR, REACH, Rembrandt, Steripod, Opill, Solpadeine, Coldrex, Physiomer, NiQuitin, ACO, ellaOne, Compeed Stops, XLS, Arterin, Davitamon, Apiserum, Abtei, and Nicorette brands. It also offers contract manufacturing services. The company sells its products through retail drug, supermarket, and mass merchandise chains; e-commerce stores; wholesalers; pharmacies; drug and grocery retailers; and para-pharmacies. The company was formerly known as Perrigo Company and changed its name to Perrigo Company plc in December 2013. Perrigo Company plc was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.