Critical Contrast: LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) and Eventbrite (NYSE:EB)

LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN) and Eventbrite (NYSE:EB) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

LivePerson has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eventbrite has a beta of 2.06, suggesting that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares LivePerson and Eventbrite’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LivePerson	-62.66%	N/A	-7.86%
Eventbrite	-6.93%	-11.91%	-2.64%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for LivePerson and Eventbrite, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LivePerson	1	2	0	0	1.67
Eventbrite	1	1	1	0	2.00

LivePerson presently has a consensus target price of $1.00, suggesting a potential upside of 145.76%. Eventbrite has a consensus target price of $4.40, suggesting a potential upside of 88.03%. Given LivePerson’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe LivePerson is more favorable than Eventbrite.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.8% of LivePerson shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Eventbrite shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of LivePerson shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.3% of Eventbrite shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LivePerson	$312.47 million	0.13	-$134.27 million	($2.00)	-0.20
Eventbrite	$300.86 million	0.75	-$15.57 million	($0.22)	-10.64

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

Summary

Eventbrite beats LivePerson on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LivePerson

LivePerson, Inc. engages in conversational artificial intelligence. It enables brands to leverage the Conversational Cloud's intelligence engine to connect with consumers through an integrated suite of mobile and online business messaging technologies. The company offers the Conversational Cloud, an enterprise-class digital customer conversation platform, which enables businesses and consumers to connect through conversational channels, such as voice, in-app, and mobile messaging. It also provides professional services; LivePerson's Conversational AI, including conversation builder, manager, and intelligence, and intent manager. In addition, it provides Voice AI, conversational intelligence and insights, and integration services. The company sells its products to Fortune 500 companies, Internet businesses, online merchants, automotive dealers, educational institution, public sector, and not-for-profit organizations. It operates in the United States, Canada, Latin America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Asia-Pacific. LivePerson, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Eventbrite

Eventbrite, Inc. operates a two-sided marketplace that provides self-service ticketing and marketing tools for event creators in the United States and internationally. Its platform integrates components needed to plan, promote, and produce live events that allow creators to reduce friction and costs, enhance reach, and drive ticket sales. The company was formerly known as Mollyguard Corporation and changed its name to Eventbrite, Inc. in 2009. Eventbrite, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.