Critical Analysis: Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) versus Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ)

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) and Corpay (NYSE:CPAY) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Marqeta and Corpay, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marqeta	2	7	1	1	2.09
Corpay	0	3	12	0	2.80

Marqeta presently has a consensus target price of $19.75, suggesting a potential upside of 20.13%. Corpay has a consensus target price of $438.93, suggesting a potential upside of 9.86%. Given Marqeta’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Marqeta is more favorable than Corpay.

Volatility & Risk

Marqeta has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corpay has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Marqeta and Corpay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marqeta	1.53%	1.36%	0.71%
Corpay	22.72%	42.18%	6.34%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Marqeta and Corpay”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marqeta	$624.88 million	2.74	-$13.93 million	$0.11	149.45
Corpay	$5.02 billion	5.23	$1.07 billion	$16.43	24.32

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.6% of Marqeta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Corpay shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.7% of Marqeta shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Corpay shares are owned by company insiders. 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

Corpay beats Marqeta on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marqeta

Marqeta, Inc. operates a cloud-based open application programming interface platform that delivers card issuing and transaction processing services. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as buy now, pay later. Marqeta, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.

About Corpay

Volatus is a leader in innovative global aerial solutions for intelligence and cargo. With over 100 years of combined institutional knowledge in aviation, Volatus provides comprehensive solutions using both piloted and remotely piloted aircraft systems for a wide array of industries, including oil and gas, energy utilities, healthcare, public safety, and infrastructure. The Company is committed to enhancing operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability through cutting-edge aerial technologies.