Contrasting Baozun (NASDAQ:BZUN) and ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS)

ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS) and Baozun (NASDAQ:BZUN) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.9% of ExlService shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.3% of Baozun shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of ExlService shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 59.2% of Baozun shares are held 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.

Profitability

This table compares ExlService and Baozun’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ExlService	11.66%	28.50%	15.48%
Baozun	-1.80%	1.68%	0.88%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for ExlService and Baozun, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ExlService	1	0	5	0	2.67
Baozun	1	1	0	0	1.50

ExlService currently has a consensus price target of $41.50, indicating a potential upside of 35.67%. Given ExlService’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ExlService is more favorable than Baozun.

Risk and Volatility

ExlService has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Baozun has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ExlService and Baozun”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ExlService	$2.09 billion	2.24	$251.02 million	$1.57	19.48
Baozun	$10.26 billion	0.02	-$34.62 million	($0.45)	-6.02

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

Summary

ExlService beats Baozun on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ExlService

ExlService Holdings, Inc. operates as a data analytics, and digital operations and solutions company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Insurance, Healthcare, Analytics, and Emerging Business segments. It also provides digital operations and solutions and analytics-driven services, such as claims processing, premium and benefit administration, agency management, account reconciliation, policy research, underwriting support, new business acquisition, policy servicing, premium audit, surveys, billing and collection, commercial and residential survey, and customer service using digital technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced automation; digital customer acquisition services using a software-as-a-service delivery model through LifePRO and LISS platforms; subrogation services; and Subrosource software platform, an end-to-end subrogation platform. In addition, the company offers health care services related to care management, utilization management, disease management, payment integrity, revenue optimization, and customer engagement. Further, it provides financial planning and analysis, management reporting, forecasting and decision support, data management, regulatory reporting and risk, and compliance services; reservations, customer, and fulfilment services; freight billing, collections, claims management, freight audit, freight scheduling, supply chain management, and revenue assurance services; residential mortgage lending, title verification and validation, retail banking and credit cards, trust verification, commercial banking, and investment management; merchandising, pricing, and demand forecasting; and digital operations and solutions. The company offers predictive and prescriptive analytics in the areas of customer acquisition and lifecycle management. ExlService Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Baozun

Baozun Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides end-to-end e-commerce solutions to brand partners in the People’s Republic of China. The company operates through two segments, E-Commerce and Brand Management (BBM). The E-Commerce segment offers brands’ store operations, customer services and value-added services in logistics and supply chain management, IT, and digital marketing. The Brand Management segment provides brand management, strategic and tactic positioning, branding and marketing, retail and e-commerce operations, supply chain, and logistics and technology services. It serves brand partners in various categories, including apparel and accessories, appliances, electronics, home and furnishings, food and health products, beauty and cosmetics, fast moving consumer goods, mother and baby products, and automobiles. The company was formerly known as Baozun Cayman Inc. and changed its name to Baozun Inc. in March 2015. Baozun Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.