Comparing Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX) and Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ:LCUT)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Lifetime Brands and Olaplex, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lifetime Brands	1	1	1	0	2.00
Olaplex	0	3	1	0	2.25

Lifetime Brands currently has a consensus target price of $5.50, indicating a potential upside of 43.60%. Olaplex has a consensus target price of $1.88, indicating a potential upside of 46.48%. Given Olaplex’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Olaplex is more favorable than Lifetime Brands.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

40.6% of Lifetime Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.4% of Olaplex shares are owned by institutional investors. 43.6% of Lifetime Brands shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Olaplex shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Lifetime Brands and Olaplex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lifetime Brands	-5.16%	0.12%	0.04%
Olaplex	-0.30%	3.32%	1.71%

Risk & Volatility

Lifetime Brands has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Olaplex has a beta of 2.31, indicating that its share price is 131% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lifetime Brands and Olaplex”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lifetime Brands	$670.99 million	0.13	-$15.16 million	($1.59)	-2.41
Olaplex	$423.08 million	2.02	$19.52 million	N/A	N/A

Olaplex has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Lifetime Brands.

Summary

Olaplex beats Lifetime Brands on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lifetime Brands

Lifetime Brands, Inc. designs, sources, and sells branded kitchenware, tableware, and other products for use in the home in the worldwide. The company provides kitchenware products, including kitchen tools and gadgets, cutlery, kitchen scales, thermometers, cutting boards, shears, cookware, pantryware, spice racks, and bakeware; and tableware products comprising dinnerware, stemware, flatware, and giftware. It also provides home solutions, such as thermal beverageware, bath scales, weather and outdoor household, food storage, neoprene travel, and home décor products. The company owns or licenses various brands, including the Farberware, Mikasa, Taylor, KitchenAid, Pfaltzgraff, BUILT NY, Rabbit, Kamenstein, S’well, and Fred & Friends. It serves mass market merchants, specialty stores, department stores, warehouse clubs, grocery stores, off-price retailers, food service distributors, food and beverage outlets, and e-commerce. The company sells its products directly, as well as through its retail websites. Lifetime Brands, Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Garden City, New York.

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.