Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) and Verano (OTCMKTS:VRNOF) Head-To-Head Comparison

Verano (OTCMKTS:VRNOF) and Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Verano and Lendway”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Verano	$938.45 million	0.24	-$117.35 million	($0.97)	-0.66
Lendway	$31.58 million	0.21	$2.41 million	($1.98)	-1.90

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

9.0% of Verano shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of Lendway shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of Verano shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Lendway shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Verano has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lendway has a beta of 1.97, suggesting that its share price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Verano and Lendway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verano	-16.31%	-7.48%	-4.03%
Lendway	N/A	-21.56%	-4.32%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Verano and Lendway, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verano	0	0	1	2	3.67
Lendway	0	0	0	0	0.00

Verano currently has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 993.92%. Given Verano’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Verano is more favorable than Lendway.

Summary

Verano beats Lendway on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Verano

Verano Holdings Corp. operates as a vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator in the United States. The company engages in the cultivation, processing, wholesale, and retail distribution of cannabis in Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. It offers cannabis products under the Encore, Avexia, MUV, Savvy, BITS, and Verano brands for medical and adult-use markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Lendway

Lendway, Inc. operates as a specialty agricultural and finance company focusing on making and managing its agricultural investments in the United States and internationally. It owns and operates FarmlandCredit.com, a non-bank lending business that seeks to purchase existing loans and/or originate and fund new loans domestically. The company was formerly known as Insignia Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Lendway, Inc. in August 2023. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.