Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ – Get Free Report) and WEX (NYSE:WEX – Get Free Report) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.
Volatility & Risk
Marqeta has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WEX has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Marqeta and WEX, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Marqeta | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1.91 |
| WEX | 0 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2.25 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Marqeta and WEX”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Marqeta | $651.61 million | 2.62 | -$13.93 million | $0.01 | 399.00 |
| WEX | $2.70 billion | 1.75 | $304.10 million | $8.91 | 15.25 |
WEX has higher revenue and earnings than Marqeta. WEX is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marqeta, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
78.6% of Marqeta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.5% of WEX shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.6% of Marqeta shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of WEX shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Marqeta and WEX’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Marqeta | 0.33% | 0.27% | 0.15% |
| WEX | 11.50% | 42.66% | 3.33% |
Summary
WEX beats Marqeta on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About WEX
WEX Inc. operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to businesses and government agencies with fleets of commercial vehicles; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Corporate Payments segment provides payment solutions, including embedded payments; and accounts payable automation and spend management solutions. This segment also markets its products directly and indirectly to customers in travel, fintech, insurance, consumer bill pay, and media verticals. The Benefits Solutions segment offers software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for consumer directed healthcare benefits and full-service benefit enrollment solutions. In addition, its SaaS platform includes embedded payment solutions and plan administration services for consumer-directed health benefits; COBRA accounts; and benefit enrollment and administration services. Further, it offers custodial and depository services for health savings accounts; and markets its products through third-party administrators, financial institutions, payroll providers, and health plans. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Portland, Maine.
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