Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC) versus Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Critical Analysis

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Waystar and Digimarc”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waystar	$791.01 million	6.73	-$51.33 million	N/A	N/A
Digimarc	$39.04 million	17.21	-$45.96 million	($1.95)	-16.08

Digimarc has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Waystar.

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

66.8% of Digimarc shares are held by institutional investors. 19.3% of Digimarc shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waystar	0	0	11	0	3.00
Digimarc	0	1	1	0	2.50

Waystar presently has a consensus target price of $31.90, suggesting a potential upside of 3.17%. Digimarc has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.42%. Given Digimarc’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Digimarc is more favorable than Waystar.

Summary

Waystar beats Digimarc on 6 of the 11 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.