BIO-key International (NASDAQ:BKYI – Get Free Report) and PowerFleet (NASDAQ:AIOT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.
Risk & Volatility
BIO-key International has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PowerFleet has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares BIO-key International and PowerFleet”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| BIO-key International | $6.09 million | 0.59 | -$7.16 million | ($4.11) | -0.60 |
| PowerFleet | $443.78 million | 0.87 | -$20.55 million | ($0.14) | -20.57 |
BIO-key International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than PowerFleet. PowerFleet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BIO-key International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for BIO-key International and PowerFleet, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| BIO-key International | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| PowerFleet | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.17 |
PowerFleet has a consensus target price of $7.40, suggesting a potential upside of 156.94%. Given PowerFleet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PowerFleet is more favorable than BIO-key International.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
26.5% of BIO-key International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.4% of PowerFleet shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.0% of BIO-key International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of PowerFleet shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares BIO-key International and PowerFleet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| BIO-key International | -50.01% | -67.31% | -40.28% |
| PowerFleet | -4.16% | 0.48% | 0.24% |
Summary
PowerFleet beats BIO-key International on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About BIO-key International
BIO-key International, Inc. develops and markets fingerprint identification biometric technology and software solutions, and enterprise-ready identity access management solutions for commercial, government, and education customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers BIO-key PortalGuard and PortalGuard IDaaS solutions, a customer-controlled and neutral-by-design cloud-based identity platform that allows customers to integrate with any cloud or on-premises SaaS application, as well as windows device authentication through IAM platform. Its solutions enable its customers to secure their workforces and student populations; and make their partner networks more collaborative. In addition, it provides BIO-key VST and WEB-key products; and Civil and Large-Scale ID Infrastructure solutions that develops finger-based biometric technology. Further, it offers finger scanners for enterprise and consumer markets under SideSwipe, EcoID, and SidePass brand names. The company was formerly known as SAC Technologies and changed its name to BIO-key International, Inc. in 2002. BIO-key International, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Wall, New Jersey.
About PowerFleet
PowerFleet, Inc. engages in the provision of fleet management solutions for logistics, industrial, and vehicles. It offers wireless Internet of Things and machine to machine solutions for securing, controlling, tracking, and managing enterprise assets such as industrial trucks, tractor trailers, containers, cargo, and vehicle and truck fleets. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Israel, and Other. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, NJ.
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