Vireo Growth (OTCMKTS:VREOD – Get Free Report) and Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Vireo Growth and Heron Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Vireo Growth | $268.77 million | 1.68 | -$68.11 million | ($3.30) | -3.02 |
| Heron Therapeutics | $151.18 million | 0.40 | -$20.19 million | ($0.19) | -1.67 |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Vireo Growth and Heron Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Vireo Growth | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Heron Therapeutics | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Heron Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 528.93%. Given Heron Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Heron Therapeutics is more favorable than Vireo Growth.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
80.0% of Heron Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Vireo Growth shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Heron Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Risk & Volatility
Vireo Growth has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its share price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Heron Therapeutics has a beta of 1.61, suggesting that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Vireo Growth and Heron Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Vireo Growth | -23.37% | -19.76% | -7.15% |
| Heron Therapeutics | -22.52% | -293.02% | -10.00% |
Summary
Heron Therapeutics beats Vireo Growth on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Vireo Growth
Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. operates as a cannabis company in the United States. The company cultivates, processes, and distributes medical and adult-use cannabis products. It sells cannabis products through its network of Green Goods and other Goodness Growth branded retail dispensaries and third-party dispensaries in Maryland, Minnesota, and New York. The company was formerly known as Vireo Health International Inc. and changed its name to Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. in June 2021. Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
About Heron Therapeutics
Heron Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, focuses on enhancing the lives of patients by developing and commercializing therapeutic that enhances medical care. The company's product candidates utilize its proprietary Biochronomer, a drug delivery technology, which delivers therapeutic levels of a range of short-acting pharmacological agents over a period from days to weeks with a single administration. It offers SUSTOL (granisetron), an extended-release injection for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with moderately emetogenic chemotherapy, or anthracycline and cyclophosphamide combination chemotherapy regimens; and CINVANTI, an intravenous formulation of aprepitant, a substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy, as well as nausea and vomiting associated with moderately emetogenic cancer chemotherapy. The company is also developing ZYNRELEF, a dual-acting local anesthetic that delivers a fixed-dose combination of the local anesthetic bupivacaine and a low dose of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam; and APONVIE, an intravenous formulation of a substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist indicated for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults. The company was formerly known as A.P. Pharma, Inc. and changed its name to Heron Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2014. Heron Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
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