Head-To-Head Comparison: Ascend Wellness (OTCMKTS:AAWH) versus Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC)

Ascend Wellness (OTCMKTS:AAWH) and Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Ascend Wellness has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bausch Health Cos has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

17.3% of Ascend Wellness shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.7% of Bausch Health Cos shares are held by institutional investors. 21.9% of Ascend Wellness shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.7% of Bausch Health Cos 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 summary of current recommendations and price targets for Ascend Wellness and Bausch Health Cos, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascend Wellness	0	1	0	0	2.00
Bausch Health Cos	1	5	0	1	2.14

Bausch Health Cos has a consensus target price of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.12%. Given Bausch Health Cos’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bausch Health Cos is more favorable than Ascend Wellness.

Profitability

This table compares Ascend Wellness and Bausch Health Cos’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascend Wellness	-23.31%	N/A	-10.85%
Bausch Health Cos	-10.12%	-561.95%	6.31%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ascend Wellness and Bausch Health Cos”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascend Wellness	$500.58 million	0.18	-$118.19 million	($0.57)	-0.76
Bausch Health Cos	$10.85 billion	0.21	$157.00 million	($2.96)	-2.05

Bausch Health Cos has higher revenue and earnings than Ascend Wellness. Bausch Health Cos is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ascend Wellness, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Bausch Health Cos beats Ascend Wellness on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ascend Wellness

Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. engages in the cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of cannabis consumer packaged goods in the United States. The company offers flower, pre-rolls, concentrates, vapes, edibles, tinctures, and other cannabis-related products under the Common Goods, SimplyHerb, Ozone, Ozone Reserve, Royale, Tunnel Vision, Miss Grass, Lowell Smokes, Edie Parker, 1906, and AiroPro brands. It also owns, operates, and manages cannabis cultivation facilities and dispensaries. The company sells its products through company-owned retail stores and third-party licensed retail cannabis stores. Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Bausch Health Cos

Bausch Health Companies Inc. operates as a diversified specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company in the United States and internationally. It develops, manufactures, and markets a range of products primarily in gastroenterology, hepatology, neurology, dermatology, international pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC) products, aesthetic medical devices, and eye health. The company operates through five segments: Salix, International, Solta Medical, Diversified, and Bausch + Lomb. The Salix segment provides gastroenterology products in the United States. The International segment sells aesthetic medical devices, branded pharmaceuticals, generic pharmaceuticals, and OTC products internationally. The Solta Medical segment engages in the sale of aesthetic medical devices. The Diversified segment offers pharmaceutical products in the areas of neurology and certain other therapeutic classes; generic products; ortho dermatologic; and dentistry products in the United States. The Bausch + Lomb segment offers products in the areas of vision care, surgical, and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals products. The company was formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and changed its name to Bausch Health Companies Inc. in July 2018. Bausch Health Companies Inc. is headquartered in Laval, Canada.