Analyzing Verano (OTCMKTS:VRNOF) & Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Risk and Volatility

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

Profitability

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

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

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lendway	$31.58 million	0.21	$2.41 million	($3.45)	-1.08
Verano	$938.45 million	0.23	-$117.35 million	($0.97)	-0.63

Lendway has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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 recent ratings and price targets for Lendway and Verano, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Verano has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,047.16%. Given Verano’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, 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 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.

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.