Analyzing loanDepot (NYSE:LDI) and Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ)

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.4% of loanDepot shares are held by institutional investors. 83.0% of loanDepot shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.0% of Core Scientific shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares loanDepot and Core Scientific’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
loanDepot	$974.02 million	0.77	-$110.14 million	($0.63)	-3.68
Core Scientific	$502.40 million	1.18	N/A	N/A	N/A

Core Scientific has lower revenue, but higher earnings than loanDepot.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for loanDepot and Core Scientific, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
loanDepot	1	1	0	0	1.50
Core Scientific	0	0	2	0	3.00

loanDepot presently has a consensus target price of $2.25, indicating a potential downside of 3.02%. Core Scientific has a consensus target price of $6.75, indicating a potential upside of 101.49%. Given Core Scientific’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Core Scientific is more favorable than loanDepot.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
loanDepot	-11.31%	-20.63%	-2.61%
Core Scientific	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Core Scientific beats loanDepot on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Core Scientific

Core Scientific, Inc. provides digital asset mining services in North America. It operates through two segments, Mining and Hosting. The company offers blockchain infrastructure, software solutions, and services; and operates data center mining facilities. It also mines digital assets for its own account; and provides hosting services for other large bitcoin miners, which include deployment, monitoring, trouble shooting, optimization, and maintenance of its customers' digital asset mining equipment. In addition, the company provides electrical power, repair, and other infrastructure services to operate, maintain, and earn digital assets; and sells mining equipment to customers. Core Scientific, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Dover, Delaware.