Comparing Aterian (NASDAQ:ATER) & Qudian (NYSE:QD)

Aterian (NASDAQ:ATER) and Qudian (NYSE:QD) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Aterian and Qudian, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aterian	0	1	0	0	2.00
Qudian	0	0	1	0	3.00

Aterian currently has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 280.95%. Given Aterian’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Aterian is more favorable than Qudian.

Risk & Volatility

Aterian has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Qudian has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Aterian and Qudian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aterian	-13.81%	-42.25%	-24.03%
Qudian	388.27%	4.65%	4.21%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Aterian and Qudian”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aterian	$99.04 million	0.11	-$11.86 million	($1.58)	-0.66
Qudian	$29.65 million	25.49	$12.57 million	$0.43	10.42

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.0% of Aterian shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.1% of Qudian shares are held by institutional investors. 19.5% of Aterian shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 25.7% of Qudian shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Qudian beats Aterian on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aterian

Aterian, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology-enabled consumer products company in North America and internationally. Its platform offers home and kitchen appliances; kitchenware; cooling and air quality appliances, such as dehumidifiers; health and beauty products; and essential oils under the Squatty Potty, hOmeLabs, Mueller, Pursteam, Healing Solutions, and Photo Paper Direct brand names. The company primarily serves individual online consumers through online retail channels, such as Amazon and Walmart, as well as through its owned and operated websites and other marketplaces. The company was formerly known as Mohawk Group Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Aterian, Inc. in April 2021. Aterian, Inc. was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Summit, New Jersey.

About Qudian

Qudian Inc. operates as a consumer-oriented technology company in the People's Republic of China. The company engages in the operation of online platforms to provide small consumer credit products. It also provides technology development and services; research and development services; and delivery services. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Xiamen, the People's Republic of China.