Critical Survey: Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) & Verano (OTCMKTS:VRNOF)

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

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%

Volatility & Risk

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Verano	$938.45 million	0.23	-$117.35 million	($0.97)	-0.62
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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Verano and Lendway, as provided 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 price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,066.67%. Given Verano’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly 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.