Critical Review: Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) vs. Bit Origin (NASDAQ:BTOG)

Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) and Bit Origin (NASDAQ:BTOG) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

41.1% of Iris Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.1% of Bit Origin shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.5% of Iris Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Bit Origin shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Iris Energy and Bit Origin, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iris Energy	0	1	8	0	2.89
Bit Origin	0	0	0	0	N/A

Iris Energy presently has a consensus price target of $15.63, indicating a potential upside of 106.68%. Given Iris Energy’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Iris Energy is more favorable than Bit Origin.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Iris Energy and Bit Origin”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Iris Energy	$188.76 million	5.87	-$28.95 million	N/A	N/A
Bit Origin	$7.09 million	0.98	-$28.22 million	N/A	N/A

Bit Origin has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Iris Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Iris Energy has a beta of 3.41, indicating that its share price is 241% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bit Origin has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iris Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Bit Origin	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Iris Energy beats Bit Origin on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Bit Origin

Bit Origin Ltd, through its subsidiaries, engages in the cryptocurrency mining business in the United States. It is also involved in deploying blockchain technologies. The company was formerly known as China Xiangtai Food Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Bit Origin Ltd in April 2022. Bit Origin Ltd was incorporated in 2018 and is based in Singapore, Singapore.