Analyzing Coursera (NYSE:COUR) and Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT)

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) and Katapult (NASDAQ:KPLT) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Coursera and Katapult’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coursera	-6.73%	-5.17%	-3.31%
Katapult	0.47%	-2.70%	1.46%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Coursera and Katapult”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coursera	$757.50 million	1.42	-$51.00 million	($0.31)	-20.44
Katapult	$291.76 million	0.12	$1.37 million	($0.15)	-47.93

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

Volatility and Risk

Coursera has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Katapult has a beta of 1.63, suggesting that its share price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Coursera and Katapult, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coursera	2	5	8	0	2.40
Katapult	1	1	0	0	1.50

Coursera presently has a consensus price target of $10.62, suggesting a potential upside of 67.57%. Katapult has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.08%. Given Coursera’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Coursera is more favorable than Katapult.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.6% of Coursera shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of Katapult shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.8% of Coursera shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Katapult shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Coursera beats Katapult on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coursera

Coursera, Inc. operates an online educational content platform in the United States, Europe, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Consumer, Enterprise, and Degrees. The company offers guided projects, courses, and specializations, as well as online degrees; and certificates for entry-level professional, non-entry level professional, university, and MasterTrack. It offers its products to individuals, enterprise, business, campus, and government. The company was formerly known as Dkandu, Inc. and changed its name to Coursera, Inc. in April 2012. Coursera, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

About Katapult

Katapult Holdings, Inc., an e-commerce focused financial technology company, provides e-commerce point-of-sale lease-purchase options for nonprime consumers in the United States. The company's technology platform provides nonprime consumers with a lease purchase option to enable them to obtain durable goods from its network of e-commerce retailers. It also offers Katapult Pay, a one-time use virtual card technology that makes lease purchasing and transactions. The company was formerly known as Cognical Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Katapult Holdings, Inc. in February 2020. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas.