Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) versus High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) Financial Survey

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.5% of High Tide shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.4% of High Tide shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Varex Imaging shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

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

Profitability

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

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for High Tide and Varex Imaging, as provided by MarketBeat.

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

High Tide presently has a consensus price target of $6.13, indicating a potential upside of 165.15%. Varex Imaging has a consensus price target of $16.17, indicating a potential upside of 53.97%. Given High Tide’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe High Tide is more favorable than Varex Imaging.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
High Tide	$425.10 million	0.48	-$36.23 million	($0.34)	-6.79
Varex Imaging	$844.60 million	0.52	-$70.30 million	($1.64)	-6.40

High Tide has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.

Summary

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

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.

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.