Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) versus MusclePharm (OTCMKTS:MSLP) Head to Head Survey

MusclePharm (OTCMKTS:MSLP) and Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE:EBS) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for MusclePharm and Emergent BioSolutions, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MusclePharm	0	0	0	0	0.00
Emergent BioSolutions	0	0	3	0	3.00

Emergent BioSolutions has a consensus price target of $14.33, indicating a potential upside of 43.33%. Given Emergent BioSolutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Emergent BioSolutions is more favorable than MusclePharm.

Risk & Volatility

MusclePharm has a beta of -0.07, indicating that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Emergent BioSolutions has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.5% of MusclePharm shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Emergent BioSolutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 60.7% of MusclePharm shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Emergent BioSolutions shares are owned by company 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 MusclePharm and Emergent BioSolutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MusclePharm	-38.51%	N/A	-169.56%
Emergent BioSolutions	-18.55%	-9.91%	-3.31%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MusclePharm and Emergent BioSolutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MusclePharm	$50.04 million	0.00	-$12.87 million	($0.58)	N/A
Emergent BioSolutions	$1.05 billion	0.52	-$760.50 million	($4.10)	-2.44

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

Summary

Emergent BioSolutions beats MusclePharm on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MusclePharm

MusclePharm Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes sports nutrition products and nutritional supplements in the United States and internationally. The company offers a range of performance powders, capsules, tablets, gels, and on-the-go ready to eat snacks. Its MusclePharm brand product portfolio includes combat protein powder and combat crunch protein bars; and essential supplements, such as a BCAA, creatine, glutamine, carnitine, CLA, fish oil, multi-vitamin, and other products. The company also provides FitMiss branded sports nutrition products, which are formulated primarily for the female body to support women in the areas of weight management, lean muscle mass, body composition, and general health and wellness; and functional energy beverages under the Combat Energy and FitMiss Energy brands. It sells its products to various athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Emergent BioSolutions

Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a life sciences company, provides preparedness and response solutions for accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats in the United States. The company offers NARCAN Nasal Spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vaxchora vaccine for the prevention of cholera; Vivotif vaccine for oral administration for the prevention of typhoid fever; Anthrasil for the treatment of inhalational anthrax; BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; CYFENDUS for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis; and Raxibacumab injection for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax. It also provides ACAM2000, a smallpox vaccine; CNJ-016 to address complications from smallpox vaccination; TEMBEXA for the treatment of smallpox disease caused by variola virus in adult and pediatric patients; BAT for the treatment of symptomatic botulism; Ebanga for the treatment of Ebola; Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion Kit to remove or neutralize chemical warfare agents from the skin; Trobigard, a atropine sulfate obidoxime chloride auto-injector. In addition, the company is developing CGRD-001 for the treatment of poisoning by organophosphorus nerve agents or organophosphorus compounds; EBS-LASV to prevent Lassa fever; EBS-MARV to prevent Marburg virus disease; EBS-SUDV to prevent Sudan virus disease; Pan-Ebola mAbs for the treatment of ebola virus; SIAN Antidote for initial treatment of certain or suspected acute cyanide poisoning; UniFlu for immunity against influenza A and B viruses; and WEVEE-VLP for equine encephalitis virus infections. Further, it provides contract development and manufacturing services comprising drug substance and product manufacturing, and packaging, as well as technology transfer, process, and analytical development services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.