IDEX Biometrics ASA (NASDAQ: IDBA – Get a rating) and Ebix (NASDAQ: EBIX – Get a rating) are both small-cap business services companies, but which stock is superior? We’ll compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommendations for IDEX Biometrics ASA and Ebix, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sales Ratings | Hold odds | Buy reviews | Strong buy odds | Rating | |
| IDEX Biometrics ASA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Ebix | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N / A |
IDEX Biometrics ASA currently has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 269.23%. Ebix has a consensus price target of $150.00, suggesting a potential upside of 419.75%. Considering the higher possible upside of Ebix, analysts clearly believe that Ebix is more favorable than IDEX Biometrics ASA.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
0.0% of the shares of IDEX Biometrics ASA are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.7% of Ebix shares are held by institutional investors. 15.4% of Ebix shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds, and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and benefits
This table compares the revenue, earnings per share (EPS), and valuation of IDEX Biometrics ASA and Ebix.
| Gross revenue | Price/sales ratio | Net revenue | Earnings per share | Price/earnings ratio | |
| IDEX Biometrics ASA | $2.84 million | 46.35 | -$32.55 million | ($3.59) | -2.72 |
| Ebix | $994.94 million | 0.90 | $68.19 million | $2.13 | 13.67 |
Ebix has higher revenue and profit than IDEX Biometrics ASA. IDEX Biometrics ASA trades at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ebix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
IDEX Biometrics ASA has a beta of 2.49, which means its stock price is 149% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ebix has a beta of 2.47, which means its stock price is 147% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares the net margins, return on equity and return on assets of IDEX Biometrics ASA and Ebix.
| Net margins | Return on equity | return on assets | |
| IDEX Biometrics ASA | -1,034.13% | -117.95% | -104.95% |
| Ebix | 6.64% | 12.27% | 5.47% |
Summary
Ebix beats IDEX Biometrics ASA on 10 out of 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
IDEX Biometrics ASA Company Profile (Get a rating)
IDEX Biometrics ASA engages in the design, development and sale of fingerprint identification and authentication solutions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, America and Asia. The Company offers IDEX Biometrics for the biometric smart card market, including biometric fingerprint sensors for use in dual-interface, contactless-only and contact-only smart cards; biometric fingerprint modules for contact smart cards; and card-enrollment solutions for in-person remote enrollment. It primarily serves the biometric payment card market and offers its products and solutions for other markets, including access control, identification, healthcare and Internet of Things. The company was previously known as Idex ASA and changed its name to IDEX Biometrics ASA in May 2019. IDEX Biometrics ASA was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.
Ebix Company Profile (Get a rating)
Ebix, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides on-demand infrastructure software exchanges and e-commerce services to the insurance, financial, travel and healthcare industries in the United States and the world. It develops and deploys insurance and reinsurance exchanges; provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise solutions in the areas of customer relationship management and front-end and back-end systems; and offers outsourced administration and risk compliance solutions. The company operates P&C exchanges primarily in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, which facilitates the exchange of insurance data between brokers and insurance companies with a focus on the areas of personal and business lines. Its exchange-related products and services include travel exchange and money transfer services; currency exchange and transfer of funds abroad; payment services; gift cards for consumers that can be redeemed at various merchants; and technology services for various providers in the areas of lending, wealth and asset management, and travel. The Company’s insurance exchange products and services include SaaS platform and related services; software licenses; and professional services including set-up, customization, training or consulting. Its risk compliance services cover insurance origination and monitoring certificates; advisory services comprising project management and development; and business process outsourcing services, including domain-intensive project management, systems consulting services, and adjudication/claims resolution services. The company was formerly known as Delphi Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Ebix, Inc. in December 2003. Ebix, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia.
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