CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK – Get Free Report) and Burford Capital (NYSE:BUR – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares CleanSpark and Burford Capital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CleanSpark | 16.07% | -2.61% | -2.24% |
| Burford Capital | 34.81% | 8.07% | 4.28% |
Volatility and Risk
CleanSpark has a beta of 4.2, meaning that its share price is 320% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Burford Capital has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CleanSpark | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3.14 |
| Burford Capital | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
CleanSpark currently has a consensus price target of $21.57, suggesting a potential upside of 175.15%. Burford Capital has a consensus price target of $19.50, suggesting a potential upside of 41.87%. Given CleanSpark’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe CleanSpark is more favorable than Burford Capital.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
43.1% of CleanSpark shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of CleanSpark shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Burford Capital shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares CleanSpark and Burford Capital”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CleanSpark | $467.49 million | 4.71 | -$145.78 million | $0.11 | 71.27 |
| Burford Capital | $341.23 million | 8.84 | $610.52 million | $0.65 | 21.15 |
Burford Capital has lower revenue, but higher earnings than CleanSpark. Burford Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CleanSpark, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
CleanSpark beats Burford Capital on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About CleanSpark
CleanSpark, Inc. operates as a bitcoin miner in the Americas. It owns and operates data centers that primarily run on low-carbon power. Its infrastructure supports Bitcoin, a digital commodity and a tool for financial independence and inclusion. The company was formerly known as Stratean Inc. and changed its name to CleanSpark, Inc. in November 2016. CleanSpark, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada.
About Burford Capital
Burford Capital Limited provides legal finance products and services worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Capital Provision, and Asset Management and Other Provision. The Capital Provision segment provides capital to the legal industry or in connection with legal matters directly and through investment in private funds; legal risk management services; lower risk legal finance business focusing on pre-settlement litigation matters with lower risk and lower expected returns; post-settlement finance; and complex strategies in which it acts as a principal and acquires assets that are mispriced. The Asset Management and Other Services segment provides services to the legal industry, including litigation insurance. Burford Capital Limited was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey.
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