Critical Contrast: Stem (NYSE:STEM) & CLPS Incorporation (NASDAQ:CLPS)

CLPS Incorporation (NASDAQ:CLPS) and Stem (NYSE:STEM) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CLPS Incorporation and Stem”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CLPS Incorporation	$164.23 million	0.16	-$7.05 million	N/A	N/A
Stem	$144.58 million	1.42	-$854.01 million	($28.99)	-0.85

CLPS Incorporation has higher revenue and earnings than Stem.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for CLPS Incorporation and Stem, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CLPS Incorporation	1	0	0	0	1.00
Stem	1	7	0	0	1.88

Stem has a consensus target price of $12.14, indicating a potential downside of 50.50%. Given Stem’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Stem is more favorable than CLPS Incorporation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.2% of CLPS Incorporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.6% of Stem shares are held by institutional investors. 58.7% of CLPS Incorporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Stem shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

CLPS Incorporation has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stem has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CLPS Incorporation and Stem’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CLPS Incorporation	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stem	-14.04%	N/A	-21.90%

About CLPS Incorporation

CLPS Incorporation provides information technology (IT), consulting, and solutions to institutions operating in banking, insurance, and financial sectors in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It offers IT consulting services in credit card business areas, such as credit card application, account setup, authorization and activation, settlement, collection, promotion, point system, anti-fraud, statement, reporting, and risk management. The company also provides banking services, including business analysis, system design, development, testing, system maintenance, and operation support; and services in loans, deposit, general ledger, wealth management, debit card, anti-money-laundering, statement and reporting, and risk management, as well as architecture consulting services for banking systems, and online and mobile banking. In addition, it offers solutions in the field of wealth management; e-commerce solutions in online platforms, cross-border e-commerce, logistics, and back-end technology, such as big data analysis and intelligent decision-making; and driving, automatic control, and other AI-driven technology solutions for the automotive industry. Further, the company provides IT services to its clients in the banking, wealth management, e-commerce, and automotive industries; and software project development, maintenance, and testing services. Additionally, it offers CLPS Virtual Banking platform, a training platform for IT talents; recruitment and headhunting; and fee-for-service training services, as well as sells product and third-party software. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong.

About Stem

Stem, Inc. operates as a digitally connected, intelligent, and renewable energy storage network provider worldwide. The company offers energy storage hardware sourced from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); edge hardware to aid in the collection of site data and real-time operation and control of the site and other optional equipment; and Athena, a software platform, which offers battery hardware and software-enabled services to operate the energy storage systems. It serves commercial and industrial enterprises, independent power producers, renewable project developers, and utilities and grid operators. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.