Critical Analysis: FiscalNote (NYSE:NOTE) & LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP)

LiveRamp (NYSE:RAMP) and FiscalNote (NYSE:NOTE) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares LiveRamp and FiscalNote”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LiveRamp	$745.58 million	2.49	-$810,000.00	$1.06	27.75
FiscalNote	$120.27 million	0.13	$9.52 million	($4.25)	-0.23

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

Volatility & Risk

LiveRamp has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FiscalNote has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.8% of LiveRamp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.3% of FiscalNote shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of LiveRamp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.7% of FiscalNote shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares LiveRamp and FiscalNote’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LiveRamp	8.64%	6.40%	4.87%
FiscalNote	-54.31%	-75.96%	-23.47%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for LiveRamp and FiscalNote, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LiveRamp	1	4	2	0	2.14
FiscalNote	1	0	3	1	2.80

LiveRamp presently has a consensus target price of $39.40, indicating a potential upside of 33.92%. FiscalNote has a consensus target price of $29.25, indicating a potential upside of 2,948.15%. Given FiscalNote’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FiscalNote is more favorable than LiveRamp.

Summary

LiveRamp beats FiscalNote on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LiveRamp

LiveRamp Holdings, Inc., a technology company, operates a data collaboration platform in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates LiveRamp Data Collaboration platform enables an organization to unify customer and prospect data to build a single view of the customer in a way that protects consumer privacy. Its platform supports various people-based marketing solutions, including data collaboration, activation, measurement and analytics, identity, and data marketplace. The company sells its solutions to enterprise marketers, agencies, marketing technology providers, publishers, and data providers in various industry verticals, such as financial, insurance and investment services, retail, automotive, telecommunications, high tech, consumer packaged goods, healthcare, travel, entertainment, and non-profit. The company was formerly known as Acxiom Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. in October 2018. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About FiscalNote

FiscalNote Holdings, Inc. operates as technology company North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. It combines artificial intelligence technology, machine learning, and other technologies with analytics, workflow tools, and expert research. The company also delivers that intelligence through its suite of public policy and issues management products, as well as powerful tools to manage workflows, advocacy campaigns, and constituent relationships. It serves a customer base that includes businesses comprising the Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, law firms, professional services organizations, trade groups, and non-profits. FiscalNote Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Washington, District Of Columbia.