Contrasting Cibus (NASDAQ:CBUS) and Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO)

Cibus (NASDAQ:CBUS) and Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Cibus and Mission Produce, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cibus	1	0	2	0	2.33
Mission Produce	0	1	2	1	3.00

Cibus currently has a consensus target price of $21.25, suggesting a potential upside of 1,142.69%. Mission Produce has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 45.05%. Given Cibus’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cibus is more favorable than Mission Produce.

Profitability

This table compares Cibus and Mission Produce’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cibus	-5,681.55%	-83.67%	-20.85%
Mission Produce	2.73%	7.89%	4.65%

Risk and Volatility

Cibus has a beta of 1.72, suggesting that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mission Produce has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

33.8% of Cibus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.6% of Mission Produce shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.2% of Cibus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 35.4% of Mission Produce shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cibus and Mission Produce”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cibus	$4.26 million	21.77	-$251.39 million	($10.45)	-0.16
Mission Produce	$1.23 billion	0.67	$36.70 million	$0.54	21.70

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

Summary

Mission Produce beats Cibus on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cibus

Cibus, Inc., a agricultural biotechnology company, develops and licenses plant traits to seed companies for royalties. The company primarily focus on trait productivity in two areas, including productivity traits that enable farmers to have higher yields and reduce the use of the crop protection chemicals and fertilizers; and sustainable ingredients that enable corporations to replace ingredients that are fossil fuel based or whose production results in increased greenhouse gases. Cibus, Inc. is based in San Diego, California.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc. engages in the sourcing, farming, packaging, marketing, and distribution of avocados, mangoes, and blueberries to food retailers, distributors, and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments, Marketing and Distribution; International Farming; and Blueberries. It also provides ripening, bagging, custom packing, logistical management, and quality assurance services. In addition, the company offers merchandising and promotional support, and insights on market trends, and training services. Mission Produce, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Oxnard, California.