Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE) & Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) Head-To-Head Analysis

Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE) and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Forge Global and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Forge Global	$92.88 million	6.71	-$66.33 million	($5.20)	-8.65
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	$1.42 billion	3.89	$563.46 million	$1.20	19.72

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has higher revenue and earnings than Forge Global. Forge Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Forge Global has a beta of 2.18, suggesting that its share price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

40.7% of Forge Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.5% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Forge Global shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Forge Global and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Forge Global	1	2	0	0	1.67
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	1	7	4	0	2.25

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a consensus price target of $24.72, indicating a potential upside of 4.48%. Given Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is more favorable than Forge Global.

Profitability

This table compares Forge Global and Blackstone Secured Lending Fund’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Forge Global	-71.87%	-29.06%	-24.63%
Blackstone Secured Lending Fund	21.03%	11.53%	4.97%

Summary

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund beats Forge Global on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Forge Global

Forge Global operates a financial technology platform focused on private-company securities. Its marketplace connects eligible investors and shareholders seeking to buy or sell shares in privately held companies, helping facilitate transactions in an asset class that is not typically traded on public exchanges. The company also offers services that support private-market transactions, including market data and insights, brokerage and transaction support, and custody and related services through its subsidiaries.

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to private businesses. Its investment portfolio focuses primarily on senior secured, floating-rate loans, particularly first-lien debt, to established middle-market companies. The fund may also invest in second-lien loans, unsecured debt and equity securities. Its investments span a range of industries, and its lending activity is focused mainly on companies in the United States. Formed in 2018, Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is externally managed by Blackstone Credit & Insurance, part of Blackstone.