Cognyte Software (NASDAQ:CGNT) and Lightspeed Commerce (NYSE:LSPD) Head to Head Survey

Cognyte Software (NASDAQ:CGNT) and Lightspeed Commerce (NYSE:LSPD) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cognyte Software and Lightspeed Commerce”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cognyte Software	$350.63 million	1.67	-$12.05 million	($0.06)	-133.67
Lightspeed Commerce	$1.08 billion	1.38	-$667.20 million	($4.55)	-2.40

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.9% of Cognyte Software shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.7% of Lightspeed Commerce shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Cognyte Software has a beta of 1.63, suggesting that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lightspeed Commerce has a beta of 2.49, suggesting that its stock price is 149% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Cognyte Software and Lightspeed Commerce’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cognyte Software	-1.20%	-2.05%	-0.91%
Lightspeed Commerce	-59.16%	0.39%	0.36%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Cognyte Software and Lightspeed Commerce, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cognyte Software	1	2	1	0	2.00
Lightspeed Commerce	2	12	5	0	2.16

Cognyte Software currently has a consensus price target of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 74.56%. Lightspeed Commerce has a consensus price target of $13.72, indicating a potential upside of 25.46%. Given Cognyte Software’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Cognyte Software is more favorable than Lightspeed Commerce.

Summary

Lightspeed Commerce beats Cognyte Software on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cognyte Software

Cognyte Software Ltd. provides an investigative analytics software to governments and enterprises worldwide. Its Actionable Intelligence for a Safer World, an open software designed to help governments and enterprises accelerate and enhance the effectiveness of investigations. The company offers network intelligence analytics, threat intelligence analytics, decision intelligence analytics, and operational intelligence analytics solutions. Its solutions are designed to support various use cases and support a range of users, including data analysts, investigation managers, and security operations center operators, as well as operational field teams. In addition, the company provides customer support, professional, and integration services. Its government customers include national, regional, and local government agencies. Cognyte Software Ltd. was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Herzliya, Israel.

About Lightspeed Commerce

Lightspeed Commerce Inc. engages in sale of cloud-based software subscriptions and payments solutions for small and midsize businesses, retailers, restaurants, and golf course operators in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. Its Software as a Service platform enables customers to engage with consumers, manage operations, accept payments, etc. The company's cloud platforms are designed interrelated elements, such as omni-channel consumer experience, a comprehensive back-office operations management suite to improve customers' efficiency and insight, and the facilitation of payments. Its platform functionalities include full omni-channel capabilities, point of sale (POS), product and menu management, employee and inventory management, analytics and reporting, multi-location connectivity, order-ahead and curbside pickup functionality, loyalty, and customer management solutions. The company also offers tailored financial solutions, such as Lightspeed Retail, Lightspeed eCommerce, Lightspeed Restaurant, and Lightspeed B2B solutions. In addition, it sells hardware, including tablets, customer facing displays, receipt printers, networking hardware, cash drawers, payment terminals, servers, stands, bar-code scanners, and an assortment of accessories, as well as provides installation and implementation services. The company was formerly known as Lightspeed POS Inc. and changed its name to Lightspeed Commerce Inc. in August 2021. Lightspeed Commerce Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.