MDB Capital (NASDAQ:MDBH) & Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT) Critical Analysis

MDB Capital (NASDAQ:MDBH) and Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares MDB Capital and Bakkt’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MDB Capital	N/A	-75.31%	-63.59%
Bakkt	-2.84%	-62.65%	-5.94%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MDB Capital and Bakkt”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MDB Capital	$1.30 million	58.68	-$6.97 million	($2.87)	-2.87
Bakkt	$780.10 million	0.45	-$74.85 million	($12.23)	-2.12

MDB Capital has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Bakkt. MDB Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bakkt, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

MDB Capital has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bakkt has a beta of 4.71, suggesting that its stock price is 371% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for MDB Capital and Bakkt, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MDB Capital	0	0	0	0	0.00
Bakkt	1	0	1	0	2.00

Bakkt has a consensus price target of $13.13, suggesting a potential downside of 49.29%. Given Bakkt’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Bakkt is more favorable than MDB Capital.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.3% of MDB Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.1% of Bakkt shares are held by institutional investors. 55.5% of MDB Capital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Bakkt shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Bakkt beats MDB Capital on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MDB Capital

MDB Capital Holdings, LLC, through its subsidiaries, primarily operates as a broker-dealer. The company operates through two segments, Broker Dealer & Intellectual Property Service, and Technology Development. The Broker Dealer & Intellectual Property Service segment operates as a full-service broker dealer that focuses on conducting private and public securities offerings, as well as providing research services for investment banking due diligence. The Technology Development segment engages in the synthetic biology technology development business. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Addison, Texas.

About Bakkt

Bakkt Holdings, Inc. offers software as a service and application programming interface solutions for crypto and loyalty, powering engagement, and performance. The company operates Bakkt Marketplace, a platform that enables consumers to buy, sell, and store crypto in an embedded web experience; Bakkt Crypto, a platform that supports clients with a range of crypto solutions; and Bakkt Trust, institutional-grade qualified custody solution for market participants. Its platform also offers a range of loyalty solutions, including redemption solutions for various rewards categories comprising travel, gift cards, and merchandise; travel solutions that offer a retail e-commerce booking platform, as well as live-agent booking and servicing; and unified shopping experience. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.