Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN – Get Free Report) and MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Horizon Technology Finance and MarketWise’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Horizon Technology Finance | 5.27% | 11.15% | 4.84% |
| MarketWise | 0.70% | -0.96% | 1.10% |
Volatility and Risk
Horizon Technology Finance has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MarketWise has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Horizon Technology Finance | $96.02 million | 3.42 | -$2.66 million | $0.36 | 13.61 |
| MarketWise | $328.12 million | 0.88 | $5.62 million | $0.88 | 20.90 |
MarketWise has higher revenue and earnings than Horizon Technology Finance. Horizon Technology Finance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MarketWise, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Horizon Technology Finance pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.7%. MarketWise pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Horizon Technology Finance pays out 200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. MarketWise pays out 113.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. MarketWise has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
4.9% of Horizon Technology Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.0% of MarketWise shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Horizon Technology Finance shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.9% of MarketWise shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Horizon Technology Finance and MarketWise, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Horizon Technology Finance | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| MarketWise | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Horizon Technology Finance presently has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.04%. Given Horizon Technology Finance’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Horizon Technology Finance is more favorable than MarketWise.
Summary
MarketWise beats Horizon Technology Finance on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Horizon Technology Finance
Horizon Technology Finance Corporation is a business development company specializing in lending and and investing in development-stage investments. It focuses on making secured debt and venture lending investments to venture capital backed companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, cleantech and sustainability industries. It seeks to invest in companies in the United States.
About MarketWise
MarketWise, Inc. operates a content and technology multi-brand platform for self-directed investors in the United States and Internationally. Its platform includes subscription businesses that provides financial research, software, education, and tools to navigate the financial markets. The company offers various investment strategies, such as value investing, income, growth, commodities, cryptocurrencies, venture, crowdfunded investing, biotechnology, mutual funds, options, and trading; investment research product portfolio through a range of media, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile; and financial newsletters. It provides a suite of stock research tools and portfolio management services under the Chaikin Analytics brand; portfolio management software tools under the TradeSmith brand name; and database of accounting-based financial summaries under the Altimetry brand. In addition, the company develops screeners, monitors, portfolio management tools, and proprietary indicators that produce a composite score to rank publicly traded companies. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.
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