Analyzing Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) and Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC)

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) and Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Waystar and Digimarc, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waystar	0	0	10	1	3.09
Digimarc	0	1	1	0	2.50

Waystar currently has a consensus target price of $32.90, indicating a potential upside of 5.28%. Digimarc has a consensus target price of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.07%. Given Waystar’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Waystar is more favorable than Digimarc.

Profitability

This table compares Waystar and Digimarc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waystar	N/A	N/A	N/A
Digimarc	-104.84%	-41.67%	-34.11%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.9% of Digimarc shares are held by institutional investors. 19.3% of Digimarc shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Waystar and Digimarc”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waystar	$906.14 million	5.93	-$51.33 million	N/A	N/A
Digimarc	$34.85 million	20.08	-$45.96 million	($1.95)	-16.75

Digimarc has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Waystar.

Summary

Waystar beats Digimarc on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waystar

Waystar Holding Corp. is a software company which provide healthcare payments. Waystar Holding Corp. is based in LEHI, Utah.

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automatic identification solutions to commercial and government customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers Digimarc Validate protects, a cloud-based record of product authentication information; Digimarc Engage, an interactive communications channel connecting brands and consumers; and Digimarc Recycle. Its solutions are used in various application solutions, such as sorting of consumer-packaged goods in recycling streams. The company offers its solutions through its sales personnel and business partners. Digimarc Corporation was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Beaverton, Oregon.