Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) and BOX (NYSE:BOX) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
44.3% of Appian shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.9% of BOX shares are held by institutional investors. 46.8% of Appian shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of BOX shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Appian and BOX, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Appian | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.71 |
| BOX | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2.89 |
Appian currently has a consensus target price of $130.2857, suggesting a potential downside of 10.15%. BOX has a consensus target price of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.31%. Given BOX's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe BOX is more favorable than Appian.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Appian and BOX's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Appian | $260.35 million | 39.37 | $-50,710,000.00 | ($0.77) | -188.31 |
| BOX | $696.26 million | 4.23 | $-144,350,000.00 | ($0.96) | -19.33 |
Appian has higher earnings, but lower revenue than BOX. Appian is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BOX, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Appian and BOX's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Appian | -13.00% | -15.16% | -8.94% |
| BOX | -9.12% | -124.79% | -6.89% |
Volatility and Risk
Appian has a beta of 2, suggesting that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BOX has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
BOX beats Appian on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
