Sphere 3D (NASDAQ:ANY – Get Free Report) and Runway Growth Finance (NASDAQ:RWAY – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Sphere 3D and Runway Growth Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Sphere 3D | -50.87% | -49.54% | -34.72% |
| Runway Growth Finance | 27.05% | 12.91% | 6.33% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Sphere 3D and Runway Growth Finance, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Sphere 3D | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Runway Growth Finance | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.38 |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
17.3% of Sphere 3D shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.6% of Runway Growth Finance shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of Sphere 3D shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Runway Growth Finance shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Risk & Volatility
Sphere 3D has a beta of 2.91, meaning that its stock price is 191% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Runway Growth Finance has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Sphere 3D and Runway Growth Finance”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Sphere 3D | $21.66 million | 1.13 | -$23.41 million | ($0.80) | -1.26 |
| Runway Growth Finance | $53.67 million | 7.72 | $44.34 million | $1.04 | 10.67 |
Runway Growth Finance has higher revenue and earnings than Sphere 3D. Sphere 3D is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Runway Growth Finance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Runway Growth Finance beats Sphere 3D on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Sphere 3D
Sphere 3D Corp. engages in the bitcoin mining business. It is involved with digital asset mining pool operators to provide computing power to the mining pools. The company is based in Stamford, Connecticut.
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.
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