Head-To-Head Review: Bioceres Crop Solutions (NASDAQ:BIOX) versus Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL)

Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL) and Bioceres Crop Solutions (NASDAQ:BIOX) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Local Bounti and Bioceres Crop Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Local Bounti	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bioceres Crop Solutions	0	2	2	0	2.50

Bioceres Crop Solutions has a consensus price target of $4.17, indicating a potential upside of 177.78%. Given Bioceres Crop Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bioceres Crop Solutions is more favorable than Local Bounti.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

28.0% of Local Bounti shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.7% of Bioceres Crop Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 19.8% of Local Bounti shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Bioceres Crop Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Local Bounti and Bioceres Crop Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Local Bounti	-294.95%	N/A	-29.97%
Bioceres Crop Solutions	-15.27%	-14.72%	-6.21%

Risk & Volatility

Local Bounti has a beta of 2.05, meaning that its share price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bioceres Crop Solutions has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Local Bounti and Bioceres Crop Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Local Bounti	$38.14 million	1.70	-$119.90 million	($14.17)	-0.21
Bioceres Crop Solutions	$333.30 million	0.28	-$51.80 million	($0.81)	-1.85

Bioceres Crop Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than Local Bounti. Bioceres Crop Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Local Bounti, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Bioceres Crop Solutions beats Local Bounti on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Local Bounti

Local Bounti Corporation grows and packs fresh greens in the United States. It produces lettuce, herbs, and loose-leaf lettuce. The company sells its products to food retailers and food service distributors. Local Bounti Corporation was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Montana.

About Bioceres Crop Solutions

Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides crop productivity solutions. It operates through Seed and Integrated Products, Crop Protection, and Crop Nutrition segments. The Seed and Integrated Products segment provides seed traits, germplasms, and seed treatment packs for healthier, and higher yielding crops. The Crop Protection segment develops, produces, and markets Rizoderma, adjuvants, therapies, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and baits. The Crop Nutrition segment develops, produces, commercializes, and sells inoculants, bio-inductors, and biological and microgranulated fertilizers. It also offers HB4, a drought tolerant seed technology program. The company operates in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Estonia, the United States, Paraguay, Russia, South Africa, France, Uruguay, and internationally. Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Rosario, Argentina.