ImageWare Systems (OTCMKTS:IWSY) and Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Head to Head Survey

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) and ImageWare Systems (OTCMKTS:IWSY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Pegasystems and ImageWare Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pegasystems	0	2	8	1	2.91
ImageWare Systems	0	0	0	0	0.00

Pegasystems presently has a consensus target price of $67.10, indicating a potential upside of 55.04%. Given Pegasystems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Pegasystems is more favorable than ImageWare Systems.

Volatility and Risk

Pegasystems has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ImageWare Systems has a beta of 2.4, meaning that its stock price is 140% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.9% of Pegasystems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.2% of ImageWare Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 49.7% of Pegasystems shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.7% of ImageWare Systems shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Pegasystems and ImageWare Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pegasystems	22.54%	38.86%	18.27%
ImageWare Systems	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Pegasystems and ImageWare Systems”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pegasystems	$1.75 billion	4.19	$393.44 million	$2.13	20.32
ImageWare Systems	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Pegasystems has higher revenue and earnings than ImageWare Systems.

Summary

Pegasystems beats ImageWare Systems on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pegasystems

Pegasystems Inc. develops, markets, licenses, hosts, and supports enterprise software in the United States, rest of the Americas, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides Pega Infinity, a software portfolio comprising of Pega Customer Decision Hub, a real-time AI-powered decision engine to enhance customer acquisition and experiences across inbound, outbound, and paid media channels; Pega Customer Service to anticipate customer needs, connect customers to people and systems, and automate customer interactions to evolve the customer service experience, as well as to allow enterprises to deliver interactions across channels and enhance employee productivity; and Pega Platform, an intelligent automation software for increasing efficiency of clients’ processes and workflows. It also offers Situational Layer Cake that organizes logic into layers that map to the unique dimensions of a client’s business, such as customer types, lines of business, geographies, etc.; Pega Express Methodology and low code that connects enterprise data and systems to customer experience channels; Pega Cloud that allows clients to develop, test, and deploy applications; Pega Catalyst, which helps clients to transform and prototype their customer journeys; Pega Academy, which offers instructor-led and online training to its employees, clients, and partners; and global service assurance and client support services. It primarily markets its software and services to financial services, healthcare, communications and media, government, insurance, manufacturing and high tech, and consumer services markets through a direct sales force, as well as partnerships with technology providers and application developers. Pegasystems Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About ImageWare Systems

ImageWare Systems, Inc. operates as a biometric solution provider in the United States and internationally. It offers Imageware Biometric Engine, a biometric identity and authentication database built for multi-biometric enrollment, management, and authentication. The company also provides Imageware Proof that enables an entity to prove user identity from their biometrics, government issued ID, and credit bureau data; Imageware Capture that enables the capture of biographic and biometric details, such as face, fingerprint, palm print, and iris, as well as scars, marks, and tattoos; Imageware Identify, which enables a user to identify others from their biometrics; and Imageware Investigate that enables an officer to create digital lineups. In addition, it offers Imageware Credential that enables a user to design, build, and print badges for access control systems, which includes tickets, smart badges, wristbands, personal identity verification cards, and others; Imageware Digital ID, a decentralized identity service that enables self-sovereign identity underpinned by blockchain technology tied to biometrics; and Imageware Authenticate, which enables users to leverage multimodal biometrics hosted in a central server or cloud to log in to services and applications from a device. Further, the company provides Law Enforcement 2.0 solution which enables state, local, and federal agencies to capture, archive, search, retrieve, and share digital images, fingerprints, and other biometrics, as well as criminal history records on a stand-alone, networked, wireless or browser-based platform. It serves airports and seaports, education, financial, government, healthcare, and law enforcement industries. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.