Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) versus MusclePharm (OTCMKTS:MSLP) Critical Comparison

Rocket Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RCKT) and MusclePharm (OTCMKTS:MSLP) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Rocket Pharmaceuticals and MusclePharm’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rocket Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-62.62%	-54.17%
MusclePharm	-38.51%	N/A	-169.56%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rocket Pharmaceuticals and MusclePharm”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rocket Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$245.60 million	($2.75)	-3.59
MusclePharm	$50.04 million	0.00	-$12.87 million	($0.58)	N/A

MusclePharm has higher revenue and earnings than Rocket Pharmaceuticals. Rocket Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MusclePharm, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Rocket Pharmaceuticals and MusclePharm, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rocket Pharmaceuticals	0	1	11	0	2.92
MusclePharm	0	0	0	0	0.00

Rocket Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $47.27, indicating a potential upside of 379.44%. Given Rocket Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Rocket Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than MusclePharm.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.4% of Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.5% of MusclePharm shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.5% of Rocket Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 60.7% of MusclePharm shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Rocket Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MusclePharm has a beta of -0.07, suggesting that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rocket Pharmaceuticals beats MusclePharm on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rocket Pharmaceuticals

Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a late-stage biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. It has three clinical-stage ex vivo lentiviral vector programs for fanconi anemia, a genetic defect in the bone marrow that reduces production of blood cells or promotes the production of faulty blood cells; leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I, a genetic disorder that causes the immune system to malfunction; and pyruvate kinase deficiency, a rare red blood cell autosomal recessive disorder that results in chronic non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia. The company also has a clinical stage in vivo adeno-associated virus program for Danon disease, a multi-organ lysosomal-associated disorder leading to early death due to heart failure; Plakophilin-2 Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy, an inheritable cardiac disorder; and BAG3 Dilated Cardiomyopathy. It has license agreements with Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, Centro de Investigacion Biomedica En Red, and Fundacion Instituto de investigacion Sanitaria Fundacion Jimenez Diaz; UCL Business PLC; The Regents of the University of California; and REGENXBIO, Inc. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Cranbury, New Jersey.

About MusclePharm

MusclePharm Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes sports nutrition products and nutritional supplements in the United States and internationally. The company offers a range of performance powders, capsules, tablets, gels, and on-the-go ready to eat snacks. Its MusclePharm brand product portfolio includes combat protein powder and combat crunch protein bars; and essential supplements, such as a BCAA, creatine, glutamine, carnitine, CLA, fish oil, multi-vitamin, and other products. The company also provides FitMiss branded sports nutrition products, which are formulated primarily for the female body to support women in the areas of weight management, lean muscle mass, body composition, and general health and wellness; and functional energy beverages under the Combat Energy and FitMiss Energy brands. It sells its products to various athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.