BIO-key International (NASDAQ:BKYI – Get Free Report) and Materialise (NASDAQ:MTLS – Get Free Report) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
26.5% of BIO-key International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.3% of Materialise shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of BIO-key International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Materialise shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for BIO-key International and Materialise, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| BIO-key International | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| Materialise | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
Profitability
This table compares BIO-key International and Materialise’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| BIO-key International | -50.01% | -67.31% | -40.28% |
| Materialise | 4.85% | 5.20% | 3.17% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares BIO-key International and Materialise”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| BIO-key International | $6.09 million | 0.66 | -$7.16 million | ($4.11) | -0.68 |
| Materialise | $302.73 million | 1.46 | $8.73 million | $0.27 | 27.63 |
Materialise has higher revenue and earnings than BIO-key International. BIO-key International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Materialise, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
BIO-key International has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Materialise has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Materialise beats BIO-key International on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About BIO-key International
BIO-key International, Inc. develops and markets fingerprint identification biometric technology and software solutions, and enterprise-ready identity access management solutions for commercial, government, and education customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers BIO-key PortalGuard and PortalGuard IDaaS solutions, a customer-controlled and neutral-by-design cloud-based identity platform that allows customers to integrate with any cloud or on-premises SaaS application, as well as windows device authentication through IAM platform. Its solutions enable its customers to secure their workforces and student populations; and make their partner networks more collaborative. In addition, it provides BIO-key VST and WEB-key products; and Civil and Large-Scale ID Infrastructure solutions that develops finger-based biometric technology. Further, it offers finger scanners for enterprise and consumer markets under SideSwipe, EcoID, and SidePass brand names. The company was formerly known as SAC Technologies and changed its name to BIO-key International, Inc. in 2002. BIO-key International, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Wall, New Jersey.
About Materialise
Materialise NV provides additive manufacturing and medical software, and 3D printing services in the Americas, Europe and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates through three segments: Materialise Software, Materialise Medical, and Materialise Manufacturing. The Materialise Software segment offers software through programs and platforms that enable and enhance the functionality of 3D printers and of 3D printing operations. Its software interfaces between various types of 3D printers; and various software applications and capturing technologies, including computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing packages and 3D scanners. This segment serves 3D printing machine manufacturers; production companies and contract manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, and hearing aid industries; and 3D printing service bureaus through its sales force, Website, and third party distributors. The Materialise Medical segment provides medical software that allows medical-image based analysis, planning, and engineering, as well as patient-specific design and printing of surgical devices and implants. It serves medical device companies, hospitals, universities, research institutes, and industrial companies through its direct sales force, Website, and picture archiving and communication system. The Materialise Manufacturing segment provides 3D printing services, design and engineering services, and rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing of production parts to industrial and commercial customers. The company has collaboration agreements with Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.; Encore Medical, L.P.; DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson; Limacorporate Spa; Mathys AG; Corin Ltd; Smith & Nephew Inc.; Corin Ltd; Medtronic Inc.; and Abbott Laboratories Inc. Materialise NV was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.
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