Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE – Get Free Report) and CNFinance (NYSE:CNF – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.
Risk and Volatility
Forge Global has a beta of 2.18, meaning that its stock price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CNFinance has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
40.7% of Forge Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Forge Global shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.8% of CNFinance shares are owned 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.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Forge Global and CNFinance, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Forge Global | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 |
| CNFinance | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Forge Global currently has a consensus target price of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Given Forge Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Forge Global is more favorable than CNFinance.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Forge Global and CNFinance”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Forge Global | $92.88 million | 6.71 | -$66.33 million | ($5.20) | -8.65 |
| CNFinance | $80.76 million | 0.15 | -$65.43 million | $1.40 | 1.30 |
CNFinance has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Forge Global. Forge Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CNFinance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Forge Global and CNFinance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Forge Global | -71.87% | -29.06% | -24.63% |
| CNFinance | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Summary
CNFinance beats Forge Global on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Forge Global
Forge Global Holdings, Inc. operates a financial services platform in California. The company's platform solutions include trading solutions, a platform that connects investors with private company stockholders and enables them to facilitate private share transactions; and custody solutions, a non-depository trust company that enables clients to securely custody and manage assets through an online portal. It also provides data solutions, such as information and insight to navigate, analyze, and make investment decisions to market participants in the private market. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
About CNFinance
CNFinance Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides home equity loan services in the People's Republic of China. It offers micro credit loan services for micro and small-enterprise owners; and loan lending agency services for financial institutions. The company provides bridge loan products, which are unsecured short-term loans to pay off borrowers' existing loans secured by real property. It operates approximately 87 branches and sub-branches in China. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China.
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