Critical Review: Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) & Banzai International (NASDAQ:BNZI)

Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) and Banzai International (NASDAQ:BNZI) 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 earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fluent and Banzai International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fluent	$254.62 million	0.45	-$29.28 million	($1.15)	-3.35
Banzai International	$10.65 million	0.73	-$31.51 million	($6.55)	-0.18

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

Profitability

This table compares Fluent and Banzai International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fluent	-12.47%	-109.15%	-29.76%
Banzai International	-233.45%	-1,082.13%	-74.79%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

23.3% of Fluent shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.8% of Banzai International shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.3% of Fluent shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Banzai International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Fluent and Banzai International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fluent	0	1	0	0	2.00
Banzai International	1	0	2	0	2.33

Fluent currently has a consensus price target of $2.50, indicating a potential downside of 35.06%. Banzai International has a consensus price target of $260.00, indicating a potential upside of 22,410.82%. Given Banzai International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Banzai International is more favorable than Fluent.

Risk & Volatility

Fluent has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banzai International has a beta of -0.56, suggesting that its share price is 156% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Fluent beats Banzai International on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fluent

Fluent, Inc. provides data-driven digital marketing services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Fluent and All Other segments. It offers customer acquisition services by operating digital marketing campaigns, through which the company connects its advertiser clients with consumers. The company also delivers data and performance-based marketing executions to various consumer brands, direct marketers, and agencies across a range of industries, including financial products and services, media and entertainment, health and life sciences, retail and consumer, and staffing and recruitment. Fluent, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Banzai International

Banzai International, Inc., a marketing technology company, provides data-driven marketing and sales solutions for various businesses in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Its products include Demio, a browser-based webinar platform with data and marketing features designed to help businesses engage with their audience through live events and on-demand, interactive video content; Boost, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for social sharing by event registrants; and Reach, a SaaS and managed service to increase registration and attendance of marketing events. The company serves healthcare, financial services, e-commerce, technology, media, and other industries. Banzai International, Inc. was founded in 2015 and is based in Bainbridge Island, Washington.