Head-To-Head Review: ChromaDex (NASDAQ:CDXC) & Curaleaf (OTCMKTS:CURLF)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for ChromaDex and Curaleaf, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ChromaDex	0	0	2	0	3.00
Curaleaf	0	0	1	0	3.00

ChromaDex presently has a consensus price target of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 69.01%. Curaleaf has a consensus price target of $6.25, suggesting a potential upside of 110.44%. Given Curaleaf’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Curaleaf is more favorable than ChromaDex.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.4% of ChromaDex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Curaleaf shares are held by institutional investors. 9.6% of ChromaDex shares are held by 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.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ChromaDex	$85.58 million	3.13	-$4.94 million	($0.05)	-71.00
Curaleaf	$1.35 billion	1.43	-$281.20 million	($0.39)	-7.62

ChromaDex has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Curaleaf. ChromaDex is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Curaleaf, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

ChromaDex has a beta of 1.86, meaning that its share price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Curaleaf has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ChromaDex and Curaleaf’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ChromaDex	-1.58%	-4.68%	-2.50%
Curaleaf	-18.59%	-14.75%	-5.19%

Summary

ChromaDex beats Curaleaf on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ChromaDex

ChromaDex Corporation operates as a bioscience company focusing on developing healthy aging products. The company operates through three segments: Consumer products; Ingredients; and Analytical Reference Standards and Services. It researches nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+); provides finished dietary supplement products that contain its proprietary ingredients directly to consumers and distributors; and develops and commercializes proprietary-based ingredient technologies and supplies these ingredients as raw materials to the manufacturers of consumer products. The company also commercializes NAD+ precursor nicotinamide riboside as the flagship ingredient NIAGEN; NIAGEN as an active ingredient in its consumer products under the TRU NIAGEN name; and Immulina, a spirulina extract with predominant active compounds of Braun-type lipoproteins for supporting human immune function. In addition, it offers phytochemical reference standards, and other research and development services. The company distributes TRU NIAGEN products direct to consumers through its propriety e-commerce platform TRUNIAGEN.com, Amazon, ShopHQ, and other internet marketplaces, as well as specialty retailers and direct healthcare practitioners in the United States. ChromaDex Corporation was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About Curaleaf

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. operates a cannabis operator in the United States. It operates through two segments, Domestic Operations and International Operations. The company offers flower, pre-rolls, flower pots, and dry-herb vaporizer cartridges; concentrates for vaporizing which includes pre-filled vaporizer cartridges and disposable vaporizer pens; and concentrates for dabbing, such as mints, distillate droppers, mints, topical balms and lotions, tinctures, lozenges, capsules, and edibles. It also provides hemp-based products and cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol and cannabigerol. In addition, the company engages in the cultivation, production, and sale of cannabis products through retail and wholesale channels. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.