Analyzing HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) and Firefly Neuroscience (NASDAQ:AIFF)

Firefly Neuroscience (NASDAQ:AIFF) and HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Firefly Neuroscience and HealthStream’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Firefly Neuroscience	-506.23%	-90.17%	-72.05%
HealthStream	6.60%	6.81%	4.64%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Firefly Neuroscience and HealthStream”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Firefly Neuroscience	$1.80 million	9.51	-$19.88 million	($0.59)	-1.85
HealthStream	$304.06 million	2.78	$18.34 million	$0.72	40.19

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

5.0% of Firefly Neuroscience shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.6% of HealthStream shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of Firefly Neuroscience shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.4% of HealthStream shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Firefly Neuroscience and HealthStream, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Firefly Neuroscience	1	0	0	0	1.00
HealthStream	0	3	0	0	2.00

HealthStream has a consensus price target of $27.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.70%. Given HealthStream’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HealthStream is more favorable than Firefly Neuroscience.

Volatility and Risk

Firefly Neuroscience has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HealthStream has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

HealthStream beats Firefly Neuroscience on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Firefly Neuroscience

Firefly Neuroscience, Inc., a medical technology and artificial intelligence company, provides neuroscientific solutions that improve outcomes for patients with mental illnesses and neurological disorders. The company offers Brain Network Analytics, a software that focuses on diagnostic and treatment for people suffering from mental illnesses and cognitive disorders, including depression, dementia, anxiety disorders, concussions, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. It serves pharmaceutical companies and medical practitioners. Firefly Neuroscience, Inc. is based in Toronto, Canada.

About HealthStream

HealthStream, Inc. provides Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based applications for healthcare organizations in the United States. The company’s solutions help healthcare organizations in meeting their ongoing clinical development, talent management, training, education, assessment, competency management, safety and compliance, and scheduling, as well as provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment needs. It offers hStream, a technology platform that powers a range of healthcare workforce solutions. The company provides its solutions to customers across a range of entities within the healthcare industry, including private, not-for-profit, and government entities, as well as pharmaceutical and medical device companies through its direct sales teams. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.