Analyzing Evolus (NASDAQ:EOLS) & Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)

Evolus (NASDAQ:EOLS) and Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Evolus and Cerus”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Evolus	$297.18 million	1.39	-$51.64 million	($0.67)	-9.33
Cerus	$206.13 million	2.65	-$15.63 million	($0.05)	-54.60

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

Volatility & Risk

Evolus has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cerus has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.7% of Evolus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Cerus shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Evolus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of Cerus shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Evolus and Cerus, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Evolus	1	1	4	0	2.50
Cerus	1	1	2	0	2.25

Evolus currently has a consensus target price of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 156.00%. Cerus has a consensus target price of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 46.52%. Given Evolus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Evolus is more favorable than Cerus.

Profitability

This table compares Evolus and Cerus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Evolus	-14.39%	N/A	-19.03%
Cerus	-4.41%	-15.18%	-4.38%

About Evolus

Evolus, Inc., a performance beauty company, focuses on delivering products in the cash-pay aesthetic market in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers Jeuveau, a proprietary 900 kilodalton purified botulinum toxin type A formulation for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adults. It also provides dermal filler products under the Estyme and Evolysse names. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation operates as a biomedical products company. The company focuses on developing and commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. Its INTERCEPT Blood System, a proprietary technology for controlling biological replication that is designed to reduce blood-borne pathogens in donated blood components intended for transfusion. The company offers INTERCEPT Blood Systems for platelets and plasma, which is designed to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in platelets and plasma donated for transfusion; INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in red blood cells donated for transfusion; and INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation that uses its plasma system to produce pathogen reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage associated with fibrinogen deficiency, as well as pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. It sells platelet and plasma systems through its direct sales force and distributors in the United States, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, Latin America, and internationally. Cerus Corporation was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Concord, California.