Comparing Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) & Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY)

Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY) and Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

64.6% of Runway Growth Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.8% of Hut 8 shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Runway Growth Finance shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.0% of Hut 8 shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Runway Growth Finance has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hut 8 has a beta of 3.99, indicating that its share price is 299% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Runway Growth Finance and Hut 8, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Runway Growth Finance	0	6	2	0	2.25
Hut 8	0	0	6	0	3.00

Runway Growth Finance presently has a consensus target price of $11.79, suggesting a potential upside of 13.16%. Hut 8 has a consensus target price of $30.17, suggesting a potential upside of 16.38%. Given Hut 8’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hut 8 is more favorable than Runway Growth Finance.

Profitability

This table compares Runway Growth Finance and Hut 8’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Runway Growth Finance	27.05%	12.91%	6.33%
Hut 8	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Runway Growth Finance and Hut 8″s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Runway Growth Finance	$53.67 million	7.26	$44.34 million	$1.04	10.02
Hut 8	$73.90 million	32.82	-$186.77 million	N/A	N/A

Runway Growth Finance has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Hut 8.

Summary

Hut 8 beats Runway Growth Finance on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Runway Growth Finance

Runway Growth Finance Corp. is a business development company specializing investments in senior-secured loans to late stage and growth companies. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the technology, life sciences, healthcare and information services, business services and select consumer services and products sectors. It prefers to investments in companies engaged in electronic equipment and instruments, systems software, hardware, storage and peripherals and specialized consumer services, application software, healthcare technology, internet software and services, data processing and outsourced services, internet retail, human resources and employment services, biotechnology, healthcare equipment and education services. It invests in senior secured loans between $10 million and $75 million.

About Hut 8

Hut 8 Corp., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, builds, manages, and operates data centers for digital assets mining, computing, and artificial intelligence in the United States. It operates in four segments: Digital Assets Mining, Managed Services, High Performance Computing Colocation and Cloud, and Other. The company mines Bitcoin. It also offers managed services for energy infrastructure development, such as site design, procurement, and construction management; software automation, process design, personnel hiring, and team training; utilities contracts, hosting operations, and customer management; energy portfolio optimization and strategic initiatives; and finance, accounting, and safety services for digital asset mining site owners, governments, and data center developers. In addition, the company provides colocation, cloud, and connectivity services; hosting services, which include the provision of mining equipment and space, as well as monitors, troubleshoots, repairs, and maintains customer mining equipment; and equipment sales and repair services. Hut 8 Corp. was founded in 2017 and is based in Miami, Florida.