Reviewing loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) & Soluna (NASDAQ:SLNH)

Soluna (NASDAQ:SLNH) and loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Soluna and loanDepot’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Soluna	$21.07 million	0.45	-$29.20 million	($29.33)	-0.09
loanDepot	$974.02 million	0.77	-$110.14 million	($0.63)	-3.68

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

Profitability

This table compares Soluna and loanDepot’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Soluna	-138.62%	-47.43%	-28.17%
loanDepot	-11.31%	-20.63%	-2.61%

Risk and Volatility

Soluna has a beta of 2.64, meaning that its stock price is 164% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, loanDepot has a beta of 3.13, meaning that its stock price is 213% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

23.2% of Soluna shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.4% of loanDepot shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.0% of Soluna shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 83.0% of loanDepot shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Soluna and loanDepot, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Soluna	0	0	0	0	N/A
loanDepot	1	1	0	0	1.50

loanDepot has a consensus target price of $2.25, indicating a potential downside of 3.02%. Given loanDepot’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe loanDepot is more favorable than Soluna.

Summary

loanDepot beats Soluna on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Soluna

Soluna Holdings, Inc. together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining of cryptocurrency through data centers. The company operates through two segments, Cryptocurrency Mining and Data Center Hosting. It also operates in the blockchain business. In addition, the company develops and builds modular data centers that use for cryptocurrency mining. Further, it provides data center hosting services, including electrical power and network connectivity to cryptocurrency mining customers. The company was formerly known as Mechanical Technology Inc and as changed to Soluna Holdings, Inc. Soluna Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Albany, New York.

About loanDepot

loanDepot, Inc. engages in originating, financing, selling, and servicing residential mortgage loans in the United States. The company offers conventional agency-conforming and prime jumbo, federal assistance residential mortgage, and home equity loans. It also provides settlement services, which include captive title and escrow business; real estate services that cover captive real estate referral business; and insurance services, including services to homeowners, as well as other consumer insurance policies. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.