Critical Review: Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS) vs. Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ)

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) and Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.6% of Marqeta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.9% of Paysign shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.6% of Marqeta shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.4% of Paysign 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Marqeta and Paysign”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marqeta	$624.88 million	2.73	-$13.93 million	($0.03)	-133.00
Paysign	$58.38 million	3.34	$3.82 million	$0.13	27.23

Paysign has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Marqeta. Marqeta is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Paysign, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Marqeta has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paysign has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Marqeta and Paysign, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marqeta	2	9	1	0	1.92
Paysign	0	1	4	0	2.80

Marqeta currently has a consensus price target of $5.14, suggesting a potential upside of 28.79%. Paysign has a consensus price target of $8.56, suggesting a potential upside of 141.88%. Given Paysign’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Paysign is more favorable than Marqeta.

Profitability

This table compares Marqeta and Paysign’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marqeta	-2.23%	-1.62%	-1.00%
Paysign	10.10%	19.18%	3.84%

Summary

Paysign beats Marqeta on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marqeta

Marqeta, Inc. operates a cloud-based open application programming interface platform that delivers card issuing and transaction processing services. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as buy now, pay later. Marqeta, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.

About Paysign

Paysign, Inc. provides prepaid card programs, comprehensive patient affordability offerings, digital banking services, and integrated payment processing services for businesses, consumers, and government institutions. Its product offerings include solutions for corporate rewards, prepaid gift cards, general purpose reloadable debit cards, employee incentives, consumer rebates, donor compensation, clinical trials, healthcare reimbursement payments and pharmaceutical payment assistance, and demand deposit accounts accessible with a debit card. The company markets its prepaid card solutions under the Paysign brand. Its primary market focus is on companies and municipalities that require a streamlined payment solution for rewards, rebates, payment assistance, and other payments to their customers, employees, agents, and others. The company was formerly known as 3PEA International, Inc. and changed its name to Paysign, Inc. in April 2019. Paysign, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada.