Head-To-Head Review: Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) versus Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN)

Medallion Financial (NASDAQ:MFIN) and Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Medallion Financial and Iris Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medallion Financial	13.72%	9.52%	1.48%
Iris Energy	-36.10%	-8.01%	-7.37%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Medallion Financial and Iris Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medallion Financial	$194.55 million	1.16	$55.08 million	$1.69	5.79
Iris Energy	$208.75 million	10.63	-$28.95 million	N/A	N/A

Medallion Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Iris Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Medallion Financial has a beta of 2.11, meaning that its stock price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Iris Energy has a beta of 3.54, meaning that its stock price is 254% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Medallion Financial and Iris Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medallion Financial	0	0	0	0	0.00
Iris Energy	0	2	9	1	2.92

Iris Energy has a consensus price target of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 65.11%. Given Iris Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Iris Energy is more favorable than Medallion Financial.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

40.6% of Medallion Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.1% of Iris Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.4% of Medallion Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Iris Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Iris Energy beats Medallion Financial on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Medallion Financial

Medallion Financial Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. It operates in four segments: Recreation Lending, Home Improvement Lending, Commercial Lending, and Taxi Medallion Lending. The company offers loans that finance consumer purchases of recreational vehicles, boats, and other consumer recreational equipment; consumer financing for window, siding, and roof replacement, swimming pool installations, and other home improvement projects; senior and subordinated loans for the purchase of equipment and related assets necessary to open a new business, or purchase or improvement of an existing business; and taxi medallion loans to individuals and small to mid-size businesses. It also provides debt, mezzanine, and equity investment capital to companies in various commercial industries; and raises deposits and conducts other banking activities. Medallion Financial Corp. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in New York City, New York.

About Iris Energy

Iris Energy Limited owns and operates bitcoin mining data centers. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.