Analyzing Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) and Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX)

Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX) and Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Olaplex and Advantage Solutions”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Olaplex	$422.67 million	2.13	$19.52 million	N/A	N/A
Advantage Solutions	$3.57 billion	0.08	-$326.96 million	($0.75)	-1.19

Olaplex has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Advantage Solutions.

Profitability

This table compares Olaplex and Advantage Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Olaplex	-1.18%	1.31%	0.70%
Advantage Solutions	-6.97%	-34.40%	-8.04%

Risk & Volatility

Olaplex has a beta of 2.28, indicating that its stock price is 128% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advantage Solutions has a beta of 2.19, indicating that its stock price is 119% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Olaplex and Advantage Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Olaplex	1	4	2	1	2.38
Advantage Solutions	1	1	1	0	2.00

Olaplex presently has a consensus price target of $1.85, indicating a potential upside of 37.04%. Advantage Solutions has a consensus price target of $2.00, indicating a potential upside of 124.87%. Given Advantage Solutions’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Advantage Solutions is more favorable than Olaplex.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.4% of Olaplex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.8% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Olaplex shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.9% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by company 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.

Summary

Olaplex beats Advantage Solutions on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Olaplex

Olaplex Holdings, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells hair care products in the United States and internationally. The company offers hair care shampoos and conditioners for use in treatment, maintenance, and protection of hair, as well as oil, moisture mask, and nourishing hair serum. It provides hair care products to professional hair salons, retailers, and everyday consumers. The company distributes its products through professional distributors in salons, directly to retailers for sale in their physical stores, e-commerce sites, and its website, Olaplex.com, as well as third party e-commerce platforms. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Santa Barbara, California.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc. provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services. This segment also provides retailer-centric services comprising retailer-centric merchandising and in-store media services. The Marketing segment offers brand-centric services, including shopper and consumer marketing, and brand experiential services; retailer-centric services, such as retail experiential and private label services; and digital marketing, and digital media and advertising services. The company was formerly known as Karman Holding Corp. and changed its name to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.