Reviewing Gartner (NYSE:IT) & Pharma-Bio Serv (OTCMKTS:PBSV)

Gartner (NYSE:IT) and Pharma-Bio Serv (OTCMKTS:PBSV) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Gartner and Pharma-Bio Serv’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gartner	19.82%	96.70%	13.68%
Pharma-Bio Serv	-1.96%	-1.47%	-1.21%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Gartner and Pharma-Bio Serv”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gartner	$6.30 billion	4.87	$1.25 billion	$16.07	24.79
Pharma-Bio Serv	$9.51 million	1.23	-$780,000.00	($0.01)	-51.00

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Gartner and Pharma-Bio Serv, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gartner	1	3	5	0	2.44
Pharma-Bio Serv	0	0	0	0	0.00

Gartner currently has a consensus price target of $515.89, indicating a potential upside of 29.52%. Given Gartner’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Gartner is more favorable than Pharma-Bio Serv.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.5% of Gartner shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Gartner shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of Pharma-Bio Serv shares are held 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.

Volatility & Risk

Gartner has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pharma-Bio Serv has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Gartner beats Pharma-Bio Serv on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. operates as a research and advisory company in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research, Conferences, and Consulting. The Research segment delivers its research primarily through a subscription service that include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of research experts. The Conferences segment offers executives and teams in an organization the opportunity to learn, share, and network. The Consulting segment offers market-leading research, custom analysis, and on-the-ground support services. This segment also offers actionable solutions for IT-related priorities, including IT cost optimization, digital transformation, and IT sourcing optimization. Gartner, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

About Pharma-Bio Serv

Pharma-Bio Serv, Inc. operates as a compliance and technology transfer services consulting firm in Puerto Rico, the United States, Europe, Brazil, and internationally. The company provides technical compliance consulting services comprising regulatory compliance, validation, technology transfer, engineering, project management, and process support for the pharmaceutical, chemical manufacturing, biotechnology, medical device, cosmetic, food industries, and allied products companies. Pharma-Bio Serv, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Dorado, Puerto Rico.