Comparing Yirendai (NYSE:YRD) and Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK)

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) and Yirendai (NYSE:YRD) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.7% of Upwork shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of Yirendai shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Upwork shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 42.2% of Yirendai shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Upwork has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Yirendai has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Upwork and Yirendai, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upwork	0	6	7	0	2.54
Yirendai	1	0	0	0	1.00

Upwork presently has a consensus price target of $22.60, indicating a potential upside of 103.97%. Given Upwork’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Upwork is more favorable than Yirendai.

Profitability

This table compares Upwork and Yirendai’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Upwork	14.65%	18.76%	9.03%
Yirendai	0.31%	0.18%	0.13%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Upwork and Yirendai”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upwork	$787.78 million	1.83	$115.43 million	$0.84	13.19
Yirendai	$817.84 million	0.23	$5.80 million	$0.03	72.17

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

Summary

Upwork beats Yirendai on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company’s work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development. Its work marketplace also enables clients to streamline workflows, such as talent sourcing, outreach, and contracting. The company’s work marketplace offers access to various functionalities for remote engagements with talent, including communication and collaboration, ability to receive talent invoices through their work marketplace, and payment protection. Its marketplace offerings include Upwork Payroll and Upwork Enterprise, as well as managed and escrow services. The company was formerly known as Elance-oDesk, Inc. and changed its name to Upwork Inc. in May 2015. Upwork Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Yirendai

Yiren Digital Ltd. provides financial services through an AI-powered platform in China. Its platform provides a suite of financial and lifestyle services. The company offers financial services, which provides a portfolio of loan products to borrowers; insurance brokerage services; and consumption and lifestyle services, including non-financial products and services to meet various consumer needs. It supports clients at various growth stages, addressing financing needs arising from consumption and production activities, and augmenting the well-being and security of individuals, families, and businesses. The company was formerly known as Yirendai Ltd. and changed its name to Yiren Digital Ltd. in September 2019. Yiren Digital Ltd. was founded in 2012 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. Yiren Digital Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of CreditEase Holdings (Cayman) Limited.