Critical Survey: BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) & NeurAxis (NASDAQ:NRXS)

NeurAxis (NASDAQ:NRXS) and BioLife Solutions (NASDAQ:BLFS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for NeurAxis and BioLife Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NeurAxis	0	0	0	0	0.00
BioLife Solutions	0	0	7	0	3.00

BioLife Solutions has a consensus price target of $29.86, indicating a potential upside of 15.64%. Given BioLife Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BioLife Solutions is more favorable than NeurAxis.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NeurAxis	-492.76%	N/A	-641.25%
BioLife Solutions	-38.98%	-6.61%	-5.54%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

11.8% of NeurAxis shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of BioLife Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 15.2% of NeurAxis 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NeurAxis and BioLife Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NeurAxis	$2.69 million	5.74	-$14.63 million	($1.20)	-1.79
BioLife Solutions	$82.25 million	14.75	-$66.43 million	($0.50)	-51.64

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

Volatility and Risk

NeurAxis has a beta of 4.2, indicating that its stock price is 320% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BioLife Solutions has a beta of 2.04, indicating that its stock price is 104% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

BioLife Solutions beats NeurAxis on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NeurAxis

NeurAxis, Inc., a medical technology company, focuses on developing neuromodulation therapies to address chronic and debilitating conditions in children and adults in the United States. It offers IB-Stim, a percutaneous electrical nerve field stimulation system intended to be used in patients 11-18 years of age with functional abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome. The company sells its products to healthcare companies, including hospitals and clinics. The company was formerly known as Innovative Health Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to NeurAxis, Inc. in March 2022. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

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.