Critical Survey: 22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII) vs. Gilla (OTCMKTS:GLLA)

22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII) and Gilla (OTCMKTS:GLLA) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

22nd Century Group has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gilla has a beta of 13.33, indicating that its stock price is 1,233% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

18.1% of 22nd Century Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of 22nd Century Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares 22nd Century Group and Gilla”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
22nd Century Group	$17.59 million	0.13	-$5.05 million	($4,365.27)	-0.00
Gilla	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Gilla has lower revenue, but higher earnings than 22nd Century Group.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for 22nd Century Group and Gilla, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
22nd Century Group	1	0	0	0	1.00
Gilla	0	0	0	0	0.00

Profitability

This table compares 22nd Century Group and Gilla’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
22nd Century Group	-25.34%	-84.37%	-45.90%
Gilla	N/A	N/A	N/A

About 22nd Century Group

22nd Century Group, Inc., a tobacco products company, engages in the sale and distribution of its own proprietary new reduced nicotine tobacco products. The company offers reduced nicotine content tobacco plants and very low nicotine combustible cigarette products. It also provides contract manufacturing services for conventional combustible tobacco products for third-party brands. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mocksville, North Carolina.

About Gilla

Gilla Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of generic and premium branded e-liquid used in vaporizers, electronic cigarettes, and other vaping hardware and accessories in Europe, Canada, and the United States. The company offers its products under the brand names of Spectrum Concentrates, Coil Glaze, Craft Vapes, Siren, The Drip Factory, Shake It, Surf Sauce, Ohana, Moshi, Crisp, Just Fruit, Vinto Vape, Vapor's Dozen, Enriched Vapor, and Crown E-liquid. Gilla Inc. sells its products through market channels, including vape shops, retail and wholesale distributors, convenience stores, and e-commerce Websites. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.