Comparing LifeVantage (NASDAQ:LFVN) & Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX)

LifeVantage (NASDAQ:LFVN) and Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares LifeVantage and Praxis Precision Medicines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LifeVantage	1.75%	27.02%	12.42%
Praxis Precision Medicines	-5,037.88%	-151.02%	-115.60%

Risk & Volatility

LifeVantage has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Praxis Precision Medicines has a beta of 2.87, suggesting that its share price is 187% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.3% of LifeVantage shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.8% of Praxis Precision Medicines shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of LifeVantage shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Praxis Precision Medicines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares LifeVantage and Praxis Precision Medicines’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LifeVantage	$205.45 million	0.42	$2.54 million	$0.28	24.14
Praxis Precision Medicines	$2.45 million	345.34	-$123.28 million	($23.66)	-2.09

LifeVantage has higher revenue and earnings than Praxis Precision Medicines. Praxis Precision Medicines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LifeVantage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for LifeVantage and Praxis Precision Medicines, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LifeVantage	0	0	0	0	N/A
Praxis Precision Medicines	0	1	4	0	2.80

Praxis Precision Medicines has a consensus target price of $105.80, suggesting a potential upside of 114.78%. Given Praxis Precision Medicines’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Praxis Precision Medicines is more favorable than LifeVantage.

Summary

LifeVantage beats Praxis Precision Medicines on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LifeVantage

LifeVantage Corporation engages in the identification, research, development, formulation, and sale of advanced nutrigenomic activators, dietary supplements, nootropics, pre- and pro-biotics, weight management, skin and hair care, bath and body, and targeted relief products. It offers Protandim, a dietary supplement; LifeVantage Omega+, a dietary supplement that combines DHA and EPA Omega-3 fatty acids, Omega-7 fatty acids, and vitamin D3; LifeVantage ProBio, a dietary supplement to support gut health; PhysIQ, a weight management system; LifeVantage IC Bright, a supplement to support eye and brain health, reduce eye fatigue and strain, supports cognitive functions, and support normal sleep patterns; Petandim for Dogs, a supplement to combat oxidative stress in dogs; and Axio, a nootropic energy drink mix. The company also provides anti-aging skin care products, including liquid collagen, facial cleansers, perfecting lotions, eye serums, anti-aging creams, hand creams, beauty serum, as well as hair care products, such as invigorating shampoos, nourishing conditioners, and scalp serums under the LifeVantage TrueScience brand name. In addition, it offers bath and body, and targeted relief products, such as body lotion, body wash, body butter, deodorant, soothing balm, and body rub under the TrueScience brand name. It sells its products through its website and network of independent distributors in the United States, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand, Singapore, and the Philippines. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Lehi, Utah.

About Praxis Precision Medicines

Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapies for central nervous system disorders characterized by neuronal excitation-inhibition imbalance. It is developing ulixacaltamide, a small molecule inhibitor of T-type calcium channels that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of essential tremor; PRAX-562 for the treatment of pediatric patients with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE); and PRAX-628 to treat focal epilepsy. The company also develops PRAX-222 for the treatment of pediatric patients with early-onset SCN2A-DEE; PRAX-020 to treat KCNT1 related epilepsies; PRAX-080 for the treatment of PCDH19; and PRAX-090 and PRAX-100 for SYNGAP1 and SCN2A-LoF. It has a license agreement with RogCon Inc.; a research collaboration and license agreement with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; a strategic collaboration and license agreement with UCB Biopharma SRL; and collaboration with The Florey Institute to develop three novel ASOs. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.