Critical Survey: Wag! Group (NASDAQ:PET) vs. MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies (NYSE:MRM)

Wag! Group (NASDAQ:PET – Get Rating) and MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies (NYSE:MRM – Get Rating) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Wag! Group and MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wag! Group	0	0	5	0	3.00
MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies	0	0	0	0	N/A

Wag! Group currently has a consensus price target of $6.75, indicating a potential upside of 299.41%. Given Wag! Group’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Wag! Group is more favorable than MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.1% of Wag! Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.2% of Wag! Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 40.2% of MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies 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.

Profitability

This table compares Wag! Group and MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wag! Group	N/A	N/A	-31.76%
MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Wag! Group and MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wag! Group	$54.87 million	1.13	-$38.57 million	N/A	N/A
MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies	$49.30 million	0.64	-$9.02 million	N/A	N/A

MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Wag! Group.

Summary

Wag! Group beats MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wag! Group

(Get Rating)

Wag! Group Co. develops and supports a proprietary marketplace technology platform available as a website and mobile app that enables independent pet caregivers to connect with pet parents. Its platform allows pet parents, who require specific pet care services, such as dog walking, pet sitting and boarding, advice from licensed pet experts, home visits, training, and access to other services. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Purchase, New York.

About MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies

(Get Rating)

MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. provides holistic healthcare services in Japan. It operates in three segments: Relaxation Salon, Digital Preventative Healthcare, and Luxury Beauty. The Relaxation Salon segment owns and franchises relaxation salons, which provide finger-pressure style bodywork therapy, stretch therapy, and posture and joint alignment, as well as physical therapy elements; and various individual services, including anti-fatigue therapy, athletic support therapy, slim-down therapy, and reflexology. As of December 31, 2021, this segment operated 312 relaxation salons under the Re.Ra.Ku and Ruam Ruam brand. The Digital Preventative Healthcare segment offers government-sponsored Specific Health Guidance program, utilizing Lav, its internally developed on-demand health monitoring smartphone application; MOTHER Tracker for fitness applications; and preventative healthcare services utilizing its digital application and devices. The Luxury Beauty segment manages and operates hair salon under the ZACC brand name. MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. also operates Re.Ra.Ku College that offers continuing training for franchise owners, home office staff, and salon staff covering topics, such as customer service, salon operations, and relaxation techniques located in the Odaiba area in Tokyo. The company was formerly known as MEDIROM Inc. and changed its name to MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. in March 2020. MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.