Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) vs. CompoSecure (NASDAQ:CMPO) Critical Contrast

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marqeta	0.33%	0.27%	0.15%
CompoSecure	-24.53%	-65.50%	26.83%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Marqeta and CompoSecure, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marqeta	2	8	1	0	1.91
CompoSecure	0	0	6	0	3.00

Marqeta presently has a consensus price target of $5.22, indicating a potential upside of 29.50%. CompoSecure has a consensus price target of $25.50, indicating a potential upside of 119.83%. Given CompoSecure’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CompoSecure is more favorable than Marqeta.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Marqeta and CompoSecure”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marqeta	$624.88 million	2.73	-$13.93 million	$0.01	403.00
CompoSecure	$160.68 million	9.13	-$53.72 million	($2.16)	-5.37

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

Volatility & Risk

Marqeta has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CompoSecure has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.6% of Marqeta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.6% of CompoSecure shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.6% of Marqeta shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 52.1% of CompoSecure shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Marqeta beats CompoSecure on 8 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 CompoSecure

CompoSecure, Inc. manufactures and designs metal, composite, and proprietary financial transaction cards in the United States and internationally. Its primary metal form factors include embedded, metal veneer lite, metal veneer, and full metal products. The company also offers Arculus Cold Storage Wallet, a three-factor authentication solution, which supports specific digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, non-fungible tokens and others. In addition, it offers Payments + Arculus Secure Authenticate, white-labeled cold storage wallet, Payments + Arculus Cold Storage, and Payments + Arculus Authentication + Arculus Cold Storage. The company serves financial institutions, plastic card manufacturers, system integrators, and security specialists. CompoSecure, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Somerset, New Jersey.