Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU – Get Free Report) and Bridgeline Digital (NASDAQ:BLIN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
33.0% of Sohu.com shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.1% of Bridgeline Digital shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.1% of Sohu.com shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.5% of Bridgeline Digital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Sohu.com and Bridgeline Digital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Sohu.com | 35.19% | 20.92% | 14.76% |
| Bridgeline Digital | -10.75% | -17.46% | -10.69% |
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Sohu.com | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Bridgeline Digital | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Sohu.com currently has a consensus price target of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 39.30%. Bridgeline Digital has a consensus price target of $4.62, indicating a potential upside of 327.78%. Given Bridgeline Digital’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Bridgeline Digital is more favorable than Sohu.com.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Sohu.com and Bridgeline Digital”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Sohu.com | $584.33 million | 0.61 | $394.10 million | $7.84 | 1.74 |
| Bridgeline Digital | $15.38 million | 0.88 | -$2.52 million | ($0.15) | -7.20 |
Sohu.com has higher revenue and earnings than Bridgeline Digital. Bridgeline Digital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sohu.com, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Sohu.com has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgeline Digital has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Sohu.com beats Bridgeline Digital on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Sohu.com
Sohu.com Limited engages in the provision of online media, video, and game products and services on personal computers (PCs) and mobile devices in China. It operates through two segments: Sohu and Changyou. The company offers online news, information, and content services through the mobile phone application Sohu News APP, mobile portal m.sohu.com, and www.sohu.com for PCs; and online video content and services through mobile phone application Sohu Video APP and tv.sohu.com, as well as ifox, a video application for PC. It also operates Focus (www.focus.cn), which provides online real estate information and services; and 17173.com website, which provides news, electronic forums, online videos, and other online game information services to game players, as well as offers mobile game distribution services. In addition, the company offers interactive online games for PCs and mobile devices. Further, it provides paid subscription and interactive broadcasting services. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.
About Bridgeline Digital
Bridgeline Digital, Inc. operates as a marketing technology company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company offers HawkSearch, a site search, recommendation, and personalization application for marketers, merchandisers, and developers; Celebros Search, a commerce-oriented site search product that provides natural language processing with artificial intelligence; and Woorank, a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) audit tool that generates an instant performance audit of the site's technical, on-page, and off-page SEO. It also provides Bridgeline TruPresence, a web content management and eCommerce platform to support the needs of multi-unit organizations and franchises; Bridgeline Unbound, a technology suite that empower marketers to easily manage their digital experiences and create personalized customer journeys; and OrchestraCMS, a digital experience platform that enables development of custom solutions, third-party integrations, and delivery of digital transformation initiatives on the Salesforce platform. In addition, the company offers digital engagement services comprising digital strategy, web design and web development, usability engineering, information architecture, and SEO, as well as hosting services. It serves vertical markets, such as industrial distributors and wholesalers, franchises and enterprises, manufacturers, eCommerce retailers, health services and life sciences, technology, credit unions and banks, and associations and foundations through its direct sales force. The company was formerly known as Bridgeline Software, Inc. Bridgeline Digital, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is based in Woburn, Massachusetts.
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