HUYA (NYSE:HUYA) and Aware (NASDAQ:AWRE) Critical Review

Aware (NASDAQ:AWRE) and HUYA (NYSE:HUYA) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Aware and HUYA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aware	-32.20%	-19.41%	-13.95%
HUYA	-2.63%	0.73%	0.52%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Aware and HUYA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aware	$17.39 million	2.59	-$4.43 million	($0.27)	-7.81
HUYA	$6.26 billion	0.11	-$6.57 million	($0.09)	-34.50

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Aware and HUYA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aware	1	0	0	0	1.00
HUYA	1	3	1	1	2.33

HUYA has a consensus target price of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.72%. Given HUYA’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe HUYA is more favorable than Aware.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.4% of Aware shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.2% of HUYA shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.0% of Aware shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of HUYA shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Aware has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HUYA has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

HUYA beats Aware on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aware

Aware, Inc., an authentication company, provides biometrics software products and solutions for government agencies and commercial entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers biometric software solution, including Knomi, a mobile biometric framework which provides multiple biometric modality options; AwareABIS, an automated biometric identification system used for large-scale biometric identification and deduplication; AFIX suite used for small-scale law enforcement focused biometric identification; and AFIX Tracker for fingerprint, palmprint, and latent print identification, as well as AFIX Face, AFIX Verifier, AFIX Identifier, AFIX Comparator, AFIX Engine, and AFIX NIST Transaction Engine. It also provides BioSP, a biometric integration platform-as-a-service that enables biometric data processing and management functionality in a web services architecture; WebEnroll, a browser-based biometric enrollment and data management solution; and AwareID, a software-as-a-service that provides identity verification and continuous authentication capabilities. In addition, the company offers biometrics applications, such as Nexa line, a biometric search and match SDKs including Nexa Fingerprint, Nexa Face, Nexa Iris, and Nexa Voice; and AwareXM, an interoperable fingerprint matching SDK that provides fingerprint minutiae extraction, template generation, and fingerprint authentication. Further, it sells imaging products used in medical and advanced imaging application; and offers software maintenance, program management, and software engineering services. The company sells its products, services, and solutions through systems integrators, direct, and original equipment manufacturers and value added resellers channel. Aware, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.

About HUYA

HUYA Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates game live streaming platforms in the People's Republic of China. Its platforms enable broadcasters and viewers to interact during live streaming. The company's live streaming content also covers other entertainment content, such as talent shows, anime, outdoor activities, live chats, and other genres. In addition, it operates Nimo TV, a game live streaming platform in international markets. Further, the company provides online advertising, cnt, internet value added, and cultural and creative services. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, China. HUYA Inc. is a subsidiary of Tencent Holdings Limited.