Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) and Points International (NASDAQ:PCOM) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitabiliy, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.
Volatility and Risk
Shopify has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Points International has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Shopify and Points International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Shopify | -8.96% | -8.26% | -7.14% |
| Points International | -0.47% | 7.94% | 3.45% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Shopify and Points International, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Shopify | 1 | 15 | 18 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Points International | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
Shopify currently has a consensus price target of $87.22, suggesting a potential downside of 9.41%. Points International has a consensus price target of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 66.46%. Given Points International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Points International is more favorable than Shopify.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Shopify and Points International’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Shopify | $443.99 million | 17.06 | -$29.80 million | ($0.51) | -188.78 |
| Points International | $330.94 million | 0.36 | $9.54 million | ($0.10) | -81.10 |
Points International has higher revenue, but lower earnings than Shopify. Shopify is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Points International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
61.0% of Shopify shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.0% of Points International shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Points International beats Shopify on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
Shopify Company Profile
Shopify Inc. (Shopify) provides a cloud-based, multi-channel commerce platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. The Company offers subscription solutions and merchant solutions. The Company’s software is used by merchants to run their business across all of their sales channels, including Web and mobile storefronts, physical retail locations, social media storefronts and marketplaces. The Shopify platform provides merchants with a single view of their business and customers across all of their sales channels and enables them to manage products and inventory, process orders and payments, ship orders, build customer relationships and leverage analytics and reporting all from one integrated back office. The Shopify platform includes a mobile-optimized checkout system, which is designed to enable merchants’ consumers to buy products over mobile Websites. Its merchants are able to offer their customers the ability to check out by using Apple Pay.
Points International Company Profile
Points International Ltd. (Points) provides a range of e-commerce and technology services to loyalty program operators using a common infrastructure. These services include a range of white label or private branded e-commerce services (Loyalty Currency Services) that enable the sale of loyalty currencies (such as frequent flyer miles, hotel points and credit card points), both retail and wholesale, and support the loyalty program consumer offerings and their back end operations. The Company offers the consumer-focused Points Loyalty Wallet that allows users to track, manage and access multiple loyalty rewards programs through the Points.com Website. It also offers Points Travel, which is private label travel e-commerce platform designed specifically for the loyalty industry. The Company operates the PointsHound.com Website, a hotel booking engine and loyalty currency aggregator built specifically for frequent travelers.
Receive News & Ratings for Shopify Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Shopify Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
