Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) and Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) Critical Survey

Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) and Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Iris Energy has a beta of 3.62, suggesting that its share price is 262% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cipher Mining has a beta of 2.38, suggesting that its share price is 138% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Iris Energy and Cipher Mining”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	13.26	-$28.95 million	N/A	N/A
Cipher Mining	$126.84 million	16.18	-$25.78 million	($0.13)	-45.38

Cipher Mining has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Iris Energy.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.1% of Iris Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.3% of Cipher Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.6% of Iris Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Cipher Mining shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Iris Energy	-36.10%	-8.01%	-7.37%
Cipher Mining	-33.39%	-8.29%	-7.29%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Iris Energy and Cipher Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Iris Energy	0	2	9	1	2.92
Cipher Mining	0	0	10	2	3.17

Iris Energy presently has a consensus price target of $19.50, suggesting a potential upside of 46.40%. Cipher Mining has a consensus price target of $8.25, suggesting a potential upside of 39.83%. Given Iris Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Iris Energy is more favorable than Cipher Mining.

Summary

Cipher Mining beats Iris Energy on 7 of the 13 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 Cipher Mining

Cipher Mining Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and operation of industrial scale bitcoin mining data centers in the United States. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Cipher Mining Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Bitfury Holding B.V.