Vertex (VERX) Competitors

Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) and Vertex (NASDAQ:VERX) are both computer software companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Which has more volatility and risk, DUOL or VERX?

Duolingo has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Vertex has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate DUOL or VERX?

Duolingo currently has a consensus price target of $443.53, suggesting a potential upside of 8.17%. Vertex has a consensus price target of $50.50, suggesting a potential upside of 42.94%. Given Vertex's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vertex is more favorable than Duolingo.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Duolingo	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.59
Vertex	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.79

Is DUOL or VERX more profitable?

Duolingo has a net margin of 11.93% compared to Vertex's net margin of -6.45%. Vertex's return on equity of 28.14% beat Duolingo's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Duolingo	11.93%	11.70%	7.64%
Vertex	-6.45%	28.14%	5.41%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, DUOL or VERX?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Duolingo	$748.02M	24.91	$88.57M	$2.03	201.98
Vertex	$666.78M	8.40	-$52.73M	-$0.29	-121.83

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of DUOL or VERX?

91.6% of Duolingo shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.3% of Vertex shares are held by institutional investors. 18.3% of Duolingo shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 43.3% of Vertex shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to DUOL or VERX?

In the previous week, Duolingo had 16 more articles in the media than Vertex. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for Duolingo and 16 mentions for Vertex. Vertex's average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat Duolingo's score of 0.41 indicating that Vertex is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Duolingo	7 Very Positive mention(s)	13 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Vertex	9 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Duolingo beats Vertex on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.