Head-To-Head Review: Upland Software (NASDAQ:UPLD) versus Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT)

Sprout Social (NASDAQ:SPT) and Upland Software (NASDAQ:UPLD) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.8% of Upland Software shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.0% of Sprout Social shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of Upland Software shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Sprout Social and Upland Software’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sprout Social	-17.24%	-40.94%	-15.70%
Upland Software	-44.92%	50.06%	2.64%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Sprout Social and Upland Software, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sprout Social	1	7	7	0	2.40
Upland Software	1	1	2	1	2.60

Sprout Social currently has a consensus target price of $45.46, indicating a potential upside of 40.18%. Upland Software has a consensus target price of $3.75, indicating a potential downside of 15.73%. Given Sprout Social’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Sprout Social is more favorable than Upland Software.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sprout Social and Upland Software”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sprout Social	$392.40 million	4.74	-$66.43 million	($1.20)	-27.03
Upland Software	$297.85 million	0.41	-$179.87 million	($4.52)	-0.98

Sprout Social has higher revenue and earnings than Upland Software. Sprout Social is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Upland Software, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Sprout Social has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Upland Software has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Upland Software beats Sprout Social on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sprout Social

Sprout Social, Inc. designs, develops, and operates a web-based social media management platform in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides cloud software for social messaging, data and workflows in a unified system of record, intelligence, and action. It offers integrated tools, such as social engagement/response; publishing; reporting and analytics; social listening and business intelligence; reputation management; social commerce; employee advocacy; and automation and workflows. In addition, the company provides smart inbox, social customer relationship management, social monitoring and alerts, customer service tools, and automation; and centralized content planning, creation, and publishing, automated scheduling, content performance reporting, suggested content, message approval workflows, publishing permissions and governance, and content and asset libraries. Further, it offers social media; content performance, customer service and team, custom report builder, and reporting API; and market research, brand health, competitive insights, consumer trends, and product feedback; and social commerce, reputation management, employee advocacy, mobile applications, and chat bot creation and management. Additionally, the company offers professional services consisting of consulting and training services. It serves social and community management; public relations; marketing; influencer marketing; customer service and care; commerce, sales and customer acquisition; recruiting and hiring, product development, and business strategy; and small-and-medium-sized businesses, mid-market companies, enterprises, marketing agencies, government, non-profit, and educational institutions. Sprout Social, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Upland Software

Upland Software, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based software applications under the Upland brand name in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. It offers software applications that enable organizations to plan, manage and execute projects, and work in the areas of marketing, sales, contact center, knowledge management, project management, information technology, business operations, human resources, and legal. The company also provides professional services, such as implementation, data extraction, integration and configuration, and training services, as well as customer support services. It serves corporations, government agencies, and small and medium-sized businesses in the financial, consulting, technology, manufacturing, media, telecommunication, insurance, non-profit healthcare, life sciences, retail, and hospitality sectors. The company was formerly known as Silverback Enterprise Group, Inc. and changed its name to Upland Software, Inc. in November 2013. Upland Software, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.