iPass (IPAS) & Boingo Wireless (NASDAQ:WIFI) Critical Contrast

iPass (NASDAQ: IPAS) and Boingo Wireless (NASDAQ:WIFI) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitabiliy, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

23.9% of iPass shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.9% of Boingo Wireless shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of iPass shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.7% of Boingo Wireless shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

iPass has a beta of -0.37, suggesting that its stock price is 137% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boingo Wireless has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for iPass and Boingo Wireless, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
iPass	0	1	4	0	2.80
Boingo Wireless	1	0	7	0	2.75

iPass presently has a consensus price target of $2.69, indicating a potential upside of 108.53%. Boingo Wireless has a consensus price target of $15.04, indicating a potential downside of 2.06%. Given iPass’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe iPass is more favorable than Boingo Wireless.

Profitability

This table compares iPass and Boingo Wireless’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
iPass	-13.31%	-46.92%	-26.14%
Boingo Wireless	-14.32%	-24.60%	-6.53%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares iPass and Boingo Wireless’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
iPass	$62.78 million	1.35	-$6.53 million	($0.13)	-9.92
Boingo Wireless	$169.18 million	3.54	$34.37 million	($0.63)	-24.38

Boingo Wireless has higher revenue and earnings than iPass. Boingo Wireless is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than iPass, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Boingo Wireless beats iPass on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

iPass Company Profile

iPass Inc. (iPass), is a provider of global mobile connectivity, offering wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) on mobile devices. The Company, through its Mobile Connectivity Services segment, offers a cloud-based solution allowing its customers and their users’ access to its global Wi-Fi network to stay connected to the people and information. The Company has categorized its services into two approaches: Enterprise and Strategic Partnerships. Enterprise, formerly Open Mobile Enterprise (OME), focuses on providing mobile connectivity solutions to enterprises, from large to small. Strategic Partnerships, formerly Open Mobile Exchange (OMX), is executed through business development deals intended to open channel distributions for its product to reach the consumer market. Strategic Partnerships include global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), programs, including credit card companies, software product and service providers, and communication companies.

Boingo Wireless Company Profile

Boingo Wireless, Inc. is a provider of commercial mobile wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) Internet solutions and indoor direct-attached storage (DAS) services. The Company operates as a service provider of wireless connectivity solutions across its managed and operated network and aggregated network for mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablets and other wireless-enabled consumer devices. It acquires long-term wireless rights at venues, such as airports, transportation hubs, stadiums, arenas, universities, convention centers, and office campuses; builds wireless networks, such as DAS, Wi-Fi and small cells at those venues, and monetizes the wireless networks through a range of products and services. As of December 31, 2016, the Company operated 36 DAS networks containing approximately 19,200 DAS nodes. Its Wi-Fi network includes locations that the Company manages and operates, as well as networks managed and operated by third-parties with whom it contracts for access.