Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) versus Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE) Head to Head Survey

Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE) and Oaktree Specialty Lending (NASDAQ:OCSL) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.7% of Forge Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.8% of Oaktree Specialty Lending shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Forge Global shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Oaktree Specialty Lending shares are held 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.

Profitability

This table compares Forge Global and Oaktree Specialty Lending’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Forge Global	-71.87%	-29.06%	-24.63%
Oaktree Specialty Lending	16.66%	9.56%	4.60%

Risk and Volatility

Forge Global has a beta of 2.18, indicating that its stock price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oaktree Specialty Lending has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Forge Global and Oaktree Specialty Lending”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Forge Global	$92.88 million	6.71	-$66.33 million	($5.20)	-8.65
Oaktree Specialty Lending	$316.80 million	3.33	$33.92 million	$0.57	20.98

Oaktree Specialty Lending has higher revenue and earnings than Forge Global. Forge Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Oaktree Specialty Lending, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Forge Global and Oaktree Specialty Lending, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Forge Global	1	4	0	0	1.80
Oaktree Specialty Lending	0	5	0	0	2.00

Forge Global currently has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Oaktree Specialty Lending has a consensus price target of $11.83, suggesting a potential downside of 1.06%. Given Forge Global’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Forge Global is more favorable than Oaktree Specialty Lending.

Summary

Oaktree Specialty Lending beats Forge Global on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Forge Global

Forge Global Holdings, Inc. operates a financial services platform in California. The company's platform solutions include trading solutions, a platform that connects investors with private company stockholders and enables them to facilitate private share transactions; and custody solutions, a non-depository trust company that enables clients to securely custody and manage assets through an online portal. It also provides data solutions, such as information and insight to navigate, analyze, and make investment decisions to market participants in the private market. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Oaktree Specialty Lending

Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation is a business development company. The fund specializing in investments in middle market, bridge financing, first and second lien debt financing, unsecured and mezzanine loan, mezzanine debt, senior and junior secured debt, expansions, sponsor-led acquisitions, preferred equity, and management buyouts in small and mid-sized companies. It seeks to invest in education services, business services, retail and consumer, healthcare, manufacturing, food and restaurants, construction and engineering. The firm also seeks investment in media, advertising sectors, software, IT services, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, real estate management and development, chemicals, machinery, and internet and direct marketing retail sectors. It invests between $5 million to $75 million principally in the form of one-stop, first lien, and second lien debt investments, which may include an equity co-investment component in companies. The firm invest in companies having enterprise value between $20 million and $150 million and EBITDA between $3 million and $50 million. The fund has a hold size of up to $75 million and may underwrite transactions up to $100 million. It primarily invests in North America. The fund seeks to be a lead investor in its portfolio companies.