Contrasting Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY) and Greenlane (NASDAQ:GNLN)

Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY) and Greenlane (NASDAQ:GNLN) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Ajinomoto and Greenlane, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ajinomoto	0	2	0	1	2.67
Greenlane	1	0	0	0	1.00

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ajinomoto and Greenlane”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ajinomoto	$10.05 billion	2.72	$463.80 million	$0.83	33.69
Greenlane	$4.36 million	0.58	-$85.58 million	($2,046.19)	0.00

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

Volatility & Risk

Ajinomoto has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Greenlane has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

14.0% of Greenlane shares are held by institutional investors. 13.0% of Greenlane shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ajinomoto and Greenlane’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ajinomoto	N/A	N/A	N/A
Greenlane	-1,965.10%	-280.96%	-210.72%

Summary

Ajinomoto beats Greenlane on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ajinomoto

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. engages in the seasonings and foods, frozen foods, and healthcare and other businesses in Japan and internationally. The Seasonings and Foods segment offers sauces and seasoning products under the AJI-NO-MOTO, HON-DASHI, Cook Do, Ajinomoto KK Consommé, Pure Select Mayonnaise, Ros Dee, Masako, Aji-ngon, Sazón, Sajiku, and CRISPY FRY names; and solutions and ingredients for foodservice and processed food manufacturers, processed foods, and restaurants, as well as industrial, retail, and other applications. This segment also provides instant noodles under the Knorr Cup Soup and YumYum names; coffee beverages under the Birdy and Blendy brands; powdered drink under the Birdy 3in1 name; MAXIM brand products; Chyotto Zeitakuna Kohiten brand products; and gift sets and office supplies comprising coffee vending machines, tea servers, etc. The Frozen Foods segment offers Chinese dumplings, cooked rice, noodles, desserts, shumai, processed chicken, and other products under the AJINOMOTO FRESH FROZEN, Bernardi, FRED’S, Golden Tiger, José Olé, LingLing, POSADA, and TAI PEI brands. The Healthcare and Other segment provides amino acids for applications in various industries, such as pharmaceuticals and foods; contract development and manufacturing services for pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients, aseptic fill finish services, etc.; personal care ingredients; and medical foods, crop services, etc. This segment also offers Ajinomoto Build-up Film, an interlayer insulating material for semiconductor packages; fundamental foods under the Glyna and Amino Aile names; sports nutrition supplements under the amino VITAL brand; and functional materials, such as activated carbon, release paper, etc. Ajinomoto Co., Inc. was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Greenlane

Greenlane Holdings, Inc. develops and distributes cannabis accessories, vape solutions, and lifestyle products in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It operates in two segments, Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods. The company provides consumption accessories, vaporizers, pipes, rolling papers, grinders, and apparel lines, as well as bubblers, rigs, other smoking and vaporization related accessories, and merchandise. It offers its products under the Groove, Eyce, DaVinci, Higher Standards, Pollen Gear, Marley Natural, and Keith Haring brands. The company also operates e-commerce websites, such as Vapor.com, Vaposhop.com, DaVinciVaporizer.com, PuffItUp.com, HigherStandards.com, EyceMolds.com, and MarleyNaturalShop.com. It serves customers through smoke shops, cannabis dispensaries, and specialty retailers. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.