Contrasting Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) and OppFi (NYSE:OPFI)

OppFi (NYSE:OPFI) and Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.1% of OppFi shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Marqeta shares are held by institutional investors. 72.0% of OppFi shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of Marqeta 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 Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for OppFi and Marqeta, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OppFi	1	1	3	1	2.67
Marqeta	2	6	1	1	2.10

OppFi currently has a consensus price target of $13.63, suggesting a potential upside of 37.71%. Marqeta has a consensus price target of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 18.79%. Given OppFi’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe OppFi is more favorable than Marqeta.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OppFi	0.68%	58.48%	20.60%
Marqeta	-6.74%	-4.22%	-2.88%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares OppFi and Marqeta”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OppFi	$525.96 million	1.64	$7.26 million	($0.75)	-13.19
Marqeta	$506.99 million	4.09	$27.29 million	($0.08)	-57.88

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

Risk and Volatility

OppFi has a beta of 1.69, suggesting that its share price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marqeta has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

OppFi beats Marqeta on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OppFi

OppFi Inc. operates a cialty finance platform that allows banks to offer credit access. Its platform facilitates the OppLoans, an installment loan product; SalaryTap, a payroll deduction secured installment loan product; and OppFi Card, a credit card product. OppFi Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

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.