Financial Survey: Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) vs. Data Storage (NASDAQ:DTST)

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) and Data Storage (NASDAQ:DTST) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.1% of Lyft shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.6% of Data Storage shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Lyft shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 43.8% of Data Storage shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Lyft has a beta of 2.4, suggesting that its stock price is 140% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Data Storage has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Lyft and Data Storage, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lyft	1	22	10	1	2.32
Data Storage	2	1	0	0	1.33

Lyft presently has a consensus price target of $19.68, indicating a potential downside of 3.80%. Given Lyft’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Lyft is more favorable than Data Storage.

Profitability

This table compares Lyft and Data Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lyft	1.51%	14.32%	1.97%
Data Storage	-1.17%	-1.42%	-1.19%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lyft and Data Storage”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lyft	$5.79 billion	1.44	$22.78 million	$0.24	85.25
Data Storage	$25.37 million	1.19	$520,000.00	($0.04)	-104.00

Lyft has higher revenue and earnings than Data Storage. Data Storage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lyft, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Lyft beats Data Storage on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lyft

Lyft, Inc. operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for on-demand ridesharing in the United States and Canada. It operates multimodal transportation networks that offer access to various transportation options through the Lyft platform and mobile-based applications. The company's platform provides a ridesharing marketplace, which connects drivers with riders; Express Drive, a car rental program for drivers; and a network of shared bikes and scooters in various cities to address the needs of riders for short trips. It also offers centralized tools and enterprise transportation solutions, such as concierge transportation solutions for organizations; Lyft Pink subscription plans; Lyft Pass commuter programs; first-mile and last-mile services; and university safe rides programs. The company was formerly known as Zimride, Inc. and changed its name to Lyft, Inc. in April 2013. Lyft, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Data Storage

Data Storage Corporation provides data management and cloud solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers a suite of multi-cloud IT solutions, including cyber security solutions, which comprise ezSecurity, a security solution for endpoint security, system assessments, and risk analysis, as well as IBM system protection, including Ransomware defense. The company also provides data protection and recovery solutions, such as ezVault for offsite data protection; ezRecovery for fast data recovery; ezAvailability for real-time data replication with minimal recovery objectives; and ezMirror for data mirroring at the storage level. In addition, it offers cloud hosted production systems comprising ezHost, which delivers managed cloud services; and voice and data solutions, including Nexxis, which specializes in voice over internet protocol, internet access, and data transport solutions, which comprise dedicated internet services, SD-WAN options, and a cloud-based PBX solution. The company offers its solutions and services to businesses in healthcare, banking and finance, distribution services, manufacturing, construction, education, and government industries. Data Storage Corporation was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.