Critical Analysis: TerrAscend (OTCMKTS:TSNDF) and Guided Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:GTHP)

Guided Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:GTHP) and TerrAscend (OTCMKTS:TSNDF) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Guided Therapeutics has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TerrAscend has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Guided Therapeutics and TerrAscend”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Guided Therapeutics	$770,000.00	25.08	-$3.20 million	($0.04)	-5.00
TerrAscend	$260.56 million	0.89	-$81.33 million	($0.10)	-7.48

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Guided Therapeutics and TerrAscend, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Guided Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00
TerrAscend	0	1	0	1	3.00

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.7% of Guided Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.8% of TerrAscend shares are owned by institutional investors. 66.8% of Guided Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 31.6% of TerrAscend shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Guided Therapeutics and TerrAscend’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Guided Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-274.24%
TerrAscend	-45.86%	-24.69%	-4.46%

Summary

Guided Therapeutics beats TerrAscend on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Guided Therapeutics

Guided Therapeutics, Inc., a medical technology company, focuses on developing medical devices. It focuses on the commercialization of LuViva, a non-invasive cervical cancer detection device that identifies cervical cancers and precancers painlessly, non-invasively, and at the point-of-care by scanning the cervix with light, then analyzing the light reflected and fluorescent light. The company was formerly known as SpectRx, Inc. and changed its name to Guided Therapeutics, Inc. in February 2008. Guided Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is based in Norcross, Georgia.

About TerrAscend

TerrAscend Corp. cultivates, processes, and sells medical and adult use cannabis in Canada and the United States. The company produces and distributes hemp-derived wellness products to retail locations; and manufactures vaporizables, concentrates, topicals, tinctures and edibles. It also operates retail dispensaries under the Apothecarium and State Flower brand names. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.