AEON Biopharma (NASDAQ:AEON) versus Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKGAF) Financial Analysis

Merck KGaA (OTCMKTS:MKGAF) and AEON Biopharma (NASDAQ:AEON) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Merck KGaA and AEON Biopharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Merck KGaA	12.60%	10.17%	5.74%
AEON Biopharma	N/A	N/A	-994.63%

Volatility and Risk

Merck KGaA has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AEON Biopharma has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Merck KGaA and AEON Biopharma, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Merck KGaA	0	0	0	0	0.00
AEON Biopharma	0	1	1	1	3.00

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Merck KGaA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.8% of AEON Biopharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of AEON Biopharma shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Merck KGaA and AEON Biopharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Merck KGaA	$22.72 billion	0.80	$3.06 billion	$6.81	20.69
AEON Biopharma	N/A	N/A	-$36.63 million	$5.04	0.19

Merck KGaA has higher revenue and earnings than AEON Biopharma. AEON Biopharma is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Merck KGaA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Merck KGaA beats AEON Biopharma on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Merck KGaA

Merck KGaA operates as a science and technology company in Germany. It operates through Life Science, Healthcare, and Electronics segments. The company's Life Science segment offers tools, chemicals, and equipment for academic labs, biotech, and pharmaceutical manufacturers, as well as industrial sector. This segment provides drug manufacturers with process development expertise and technologies, such as continuous bioprocessing; testing kits and services; reagents and services; testing solutions that analyze air, water, and soil; and testing and tools, as well as products that help test nutritional value and identify quality inconsistencies. Its Healthcare segment discovers, develops, manufacturers, and markets prescription drugs and biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of oncology, neurology and immunology, fertility, endocrinology, as well as cardiovascular, diabetes, thyroid disorders, and multiple sclerosis; general medicines; and injection device and disease monitoring software. The Electronics segment supplies materials for the semiconductor and display industries and surface design, such as delivery systems and services, as well as surface solutions, including cosmetics, effect pigments, and functional solutions. In addition, it has in-licensing agreement with Debiopharm International SA for developing and commercializing drug candidates for the treatment of head and neck cancer; Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. for developing, manufacturing, and commercializing drug candidates for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer; and Abbisko Therapeutics Co. Ltd. for developing and commercializing of drug candidates for the treatment of tenosynovial giant cell tumor, as well as license and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA to discover two targeted protein degraders against critical oncogenic proteins. The company was founded in 1668 and is headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany. Merck KGaA operates as a subsidiary of E. Merck KGaA.

About AEON Biopharma

AEON Biopharma, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing botulinum toxins. It develops ABP-450 (prabotulinumtoxinA) injection for debilitating medical conditions, which completed Phase 2 study for the treatment of cervical dystonia and has an ongoing Phase 2 study for the treatment of both chronic and episodic migraine, as well as develops ABP-450 for the treatment of gastroparesis and posttraumatic stress disorder. The company is based in Irvine, California.