Amber Road (NYSE:AMBR) and Bridgeline Digital (NASDAQ:BLIN) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and risk.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Amber Road and Bridgeline Digital, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Amber Road | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Bridgeline Digital | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Amber Road currently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 46.44%. Given Amber Road’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Amber Road is more favorable than Bridgeline Digital.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Amber Road and Bridgeline Digital’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Amber Road | $85.17 million | 3.12 | -$13.60 million | ($0.49) | -19.51 |
| Bridgeline Digital | $13.57 million | 0.25 | -$7.21 million | N/A | N/A |
Bridgeline Digital has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Amber Road.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
73.4% of Amber Road shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.7% of Bridgeline Digital shares are held by institutional investors. 15.1% of Amber Road shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.6% of Bridgeline Digital shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility & Risk
Amber Road has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridgeline Digital has a beta of 1.61, indicating that its stock price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Amber Road and Bridgeline Digital’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Amber Road | -12.46% | -36.29% | -10.76% |
| Bridgeline Digital | -98.08% | -127.66% | -62.84% |
Summary
Amber Road beats Bridgeline Digital on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
Amber Road Company Profile
Amber Road, Inc. provides cloud-based global trade management (GTM) solutions in the United States and internationally. The company’s GTM solutions include modules for logistics contract and rate management; supply chain visibility and event management; international trade compliance; and global knowledge trade content database, supply chain collaboration with overseas factories and vendors, and duty management solutions to importers and exporters, nonvessel owning common carriers (resellers), and ocean carriers. It provides its solution to various industries, including chemical/pharmaceutical, high technology/electronics, industrial/manufacturing, logistics, oil and gas, and retail/apparel through a software-as-a-service model. The company was formerly known as Management Dynamics Inc. and changed its name to Amber Road, Inc. in 2011. Amber Road, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Bridgeline Digital Company Profile
Bridgeline Digital, Inc. operates as a digital engagement company in the United States. The company’s Bridgeline’s Unbound platform enables companies and developers to create Websites, Web applications, and online stores. It offers Bridgeline Unbound Experience Manager, a marketing automation engine and content management system; Bridgeline Unbound Content Manager that enables non-technical users to create, edit, and publish content via a browser-based interface; and Bridgeline Unbound Commerce, an online B2B and B2C commerce solution that allows users to manage domestic and international commerce initiatives. The company also provides Bridgeline Unbound Marketing, an online marketing management solution that helps marketers drive to their sites through personalized and targeted marketing automation flows; and Bridgeline Unbound Insights to manage, measure, and optimize Web properties by recording detailed events and mining data for statistical analysis. In addition, it offers Bridgeline Unbound Social, a social media management solution that empowers customers to set up customized watch lists; and Bridgeline Unbound Franchises, a Web content management and e-commerce platform to multi-unit organizations and franchises. Further, the company provides digital strategy, Web design and development, usability engineering, information architecture, and search engine optimization services; application monitoring, emergency response, version control, load balancing, managed firewall security, and virus protection services; and shared, dedicated, and Software as a Service hosting services. It serves vertical markets, such as financial services, retail brand names, health services and life sciences, technology, credit unions and regional banks, and associations and foundations through its direct sales force. The company was formerly known as Bridgeline Software, Inc. Bridgeline Digital, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.
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