Head-To-Head Survey: BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) vs. Vivani Medical (NASDAQ:VANI)

Vivani Medical (NASDAQ:VANI) and BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Vivani Medical has a beta of 3.22, meaning that its stock price is 222% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BioLife Solutions has a beta of 1.91, meaning that its stock price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vivani Medical and BioLife Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vivani Medical	N/A	N/A	-$25.65 million	($0.45)	-2.53
BioLife Solutions	$146.96 million	8.12	-$66.43 million	($1.06)	-24.26

Vivani Medical has higher earnings, but lower revenue than BioLife Solutions. BioLife Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vivani Medical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Vivani Medical and BioLife Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vivani Medical	N/A	-102.42%	-49.21%
BioLife Solutions	-38.98%	-6.61%	-5.54%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.8% of Vivani Medical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of BioLife Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 44.3% of Vivani Medical shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of BioLife Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Vivani Medical and BioLife Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vivani Medical	0	0	1	0	3.00
BioLife Solutions	0	0	7	0	3.00

Vivani Medical presently has a consensus price target of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 163.16%. BioLife Solutions has a consensus price target of $29.43, suggesting a potential upside of 14.42%. Given Vivani Medical’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Vivani Medical is more favorable than BioLife Solutions.

Summary

Vivani Medical beats BioLife Solutions on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vivani Medical

Vivani Medical, Inc., a clinical stage company, develops various implants that treat chronic diseases with high unmet medical need. It engages in developing a portfolio of miniature drug implants to deliver minimally fluctuating drug profiles; and implantable visual prostheses devices to deliver useful artificial vision to blind individuals. The company is headquartered in Emeryville, California.

About BioLife Solutions

BioLife Solutions, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets bioproduction tools and services for the cell and gene therapy (CGT) industry in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company’s products are used in the basic and applied research, and commercial manufacturing of biologic-based therapies. It offers proprietary biopreservation media products, including HypoThermosol FRS and CryoStor Freeze Media that are formulated to mitigate preservation-induced, delayed-onset cell damage and death; bioproduction tools, such as human platelet lysates for cell expansion and CellSeal closed system vials that are used in CGT; and the ThawSTAR line that comprises of a family of automated thawing devices for frozen cell and gene therapies packaged in cryovials and cryobags. The company also provides cryogenic freezer technology for controlled rate freezing and cryogenic storage of biologic materials; ultra-low temperature mechanical freezers; evo shipping containers that are cloud-connected passive storage and transport containers for temperature-sensitive biologics and pharmaceuticals; liquid nitrogen laboratory freezers, cryogenic equipment, and accessories; and biological and pharmaceutical storage and transport services. It markets and sells its products directly, as well as through third party distributors. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Bothell, Washington.