Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) and High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) Head to Head Contrast

Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) and High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Varex Imaging has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, High Tide has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.5% of High Tide shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of Varex Imaging shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.4% of High Tide shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Varex Imaging and High Tide”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Varex Imaging	$844.60 million	0.52	-$70.30 million	($1.64)	-6.44
High Tide	$425.10 million	0.48	-$36.23 million	($0.34)	-6.82

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Varex Imaging and High Tide, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Varex Imaging	1	1	2	0	2.25
High Tide	1	0	3	1	2.80

Varex Imaging currently has a consensus target price of $16.17, suggesting a potential upside of 53.09%. High Tide has a consensus target price of $6.13, suggesting a potential upside of 164.01%. Given High Tide’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe High Tide is more favorable than Varex Imaging.

Profitability

This table compares Varex Imaging and High Tide’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Varex Imaging	-7.92%	8.43%	3.66%
High Tide	-7.53%	0.58%	0.24%

Summary

High Tide beats Varex Imaging on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Varex Imaging

Varex Imaging Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray imaging components. The company operates through two segments, Medical and Industrial. The Medical segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services X-ray imaging components, comprising X-ray tubes, digital detectors and accessories, ionization chambers, high voltage connectors, image-processing software and workstations, 3D reconstruction software, computer-aided diagnostic software, collimators, automatic exposure control devices, generators, and heat exchangers. This segment's products are used in a range of applications, including CT, mammography, oncology, cardiac, surgery, dental, and other diagnostic radiography uses. The Industrial segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services Linatron X-ray linear accelerators, X-ray tubes, digital detectors, high voltage connectors, and coolers for use in security and inspection applications, such as baggage screening at airports, cargo screening at ports and borders, and nondestructive testing, irradiation, and inspection in various applications. The company sells its products through imaging system original equipment manufacturers, independent service companies, and distributors, as well as directly to end-users. It has operations in North America, South America, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Varex Imaging Corporation was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About High Tide

High Tide Inc. engages in the cannabis retail business in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. It operates licensed retail cannabis stores; and provides data analytics services. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes consumption accessories. Further, it sells its products through online sales via e-commerce platform. The company offers its products under the Daily High Club, DankStop, FABCBD, GC, Nuleaf, Smoke Cartel, and Blessed CBD brands. The company was formerly known as High Tide Ventures Inc. and changed its name to High Tide Inc. in October 2018. High Tide Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.