Analyzing iPic Entertainment (OTCMKTS:IPIC) and Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR)

Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) and iPic Entertainment (OTCMKTS:IPIC) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Ark Restaurants and iPic Entertainment, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ark Restaurants	1	0	0	0	1.00
iPic Entertainment	0	0	0	0	0.00

Given iPic Entertainment’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe iPic Entertainment is more favorable than Ark Restaurants.

Profitability

This table compares Ark Restaurants and iPic Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ark Restaurants	-3.97%	-8.49%	-2.09%
iPic Entertainment	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Ark Restaurants has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, iPic Entertainment has a beta of -2.08, meaning that its stock price is 308% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ark Restaurants and iPic Entertainment”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ark Restaurants	$165.75 million	0.14	-$11.47 million	($1.74)	-3.64
iPic Entertainment	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

iPic Entertainment has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ark Restaurants.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

32.0% of Ark Restaurants shares are held by institutional investors. 37.5% of Ark Restaurants shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 50.7% of iPic Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

iPic Entertainment beats Ark Restaurants on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ark Restaurants

Ark Restaurants Corp., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates restaurants and bars in the United States. It operates restaurants in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Florida; and Alabama, as well as fast food concepts and catering operations. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in New York, New York.

About iPic Entertainment

iPic Entertainment Inc. operates restaurants and theaters in the United States. The company operates casual restaurants, farm-to-glass full-service bars, and theater auditoriums with in-theater dining. It operates restaurants under the City Perch Kitchen + Bar, Tanzy, The Tuck Room, The Tuck Room Tavern, and iPic Express brands. It operates screens in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.