Critical Survey: KE (NYSE:BEKE) & Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

KE (NYSE:BEKE) and Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

39.3% of KE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.7% of Upwork shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of KE shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.5% of Upwork shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for KE and Upwork, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KE	0	3	5	0	2.63
Upwork	0	6	7	0	2.54

KE currently has a consensus target price of $22.40, suggesting a potential upside of 29.59%. Upwork has a consensus target price of $22.60, suggesting a potential upside of 71.60%. Given Upwork’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Upwork is more favorable than KE.

Volatility and Risk

KE has a beta of -0.64, suggesting that its share price is 164% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Upwork has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares KE and Upwork”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KE	$12.80 billion	1.58	$556.89 million	$0.42	41.15
Upwork	$787.78 million	2.18	$115.43 million	$0.84	15.68

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

Profitability

This table compares KE and Upwork’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KE	3.37%	5.47%	2.99%
Upwork	14.65%	18.76%	9.03%

Summary

Upwork beats KE on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KE

KE Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in operating an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in the People's Republic of China. It operates through four segments: Existing Home Transaction Services, New Home Transaction Services, Home Renovation and Furnishing, and Emerging and Other Services. The company operates Beike, an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services; Lianjia, a real estate brokerage branded store; Agent Cooperation Network, an operating system that fosters reciprocity and bonding among various service providers; and software-as-a-service systems. It also owns the Deyou brand for connected brokerage stores; and other brands. In addition, the company offers contract, secure payment, escrow, and other services. KE Holdings Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company’s work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development. Its work marketplace also enables clients to streamline workflows, such as talent sourcing, outreach, and contracting. The company’s work marketplace offers access to various functionalities for remote engagements with talent, including communication and collaboration, ability to receive talent invoices through their work marketplace, and payment protection. Its marketplace offerings include Upwork Payroll and Upwork Enterprise, as well as managed and escrow services. The company was formerly known as Elance-oDesk, Inc. and changed its name to Upwork Inc. in May 2015. Upwork Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.