Head-To-Head Survey: Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) & Arcadia Biosciences (NASDAQ:RKDA)

Arcadia Biosciences (NASDAQ:RKDA) and Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

17.7% of Arcadia Biosciences shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of Lendway shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Arcadia Biosciences shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Lendway shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Arcadia Biosciences and Lendway”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Arcadia Biosciences	$5.05 million	0.72	-$13.98 million	($4.28)	-0.62
Lendway	$31.58 million	0.21	$2.41 million	($3.45)	-1.08

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

Risk and Volatility

Arcadia Biosciences has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lendway has a beta of 1.97, suggesting that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Arcadia Biosciences	-110.61%	-52.63%	-34.57%
Lendway	N/A	-21.56%	-4.32%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Arcadia Biosciences and Lendway, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Arcadia Biosciences	0	0	1	1	3.50
Lendway	0	0	0	0	0.00

Arcadia Biosciences currently has a consensus price target of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 124.72%. Given Arcadia Biosciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Arcadia Biosciences is more favorable than Lendway.

Summary

Lendway beats Arcadia Biosciences on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Arcadia Biosciences

Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. produces and markets plant-based food and beverage products in the United States. The company develops crop improvements primarily in wheat to enhance farm economics by improving the performance of crops in the field, as well as their value as food ingredients. Its food, beverage, and body case products include GoodWheat, Zola coconut water, ProVault topical pain relief, and SoulSpring. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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.