Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE – Get Free Report) and StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.
Risk & Volatility
Forge Global has a beta of 2.18, suggesting that its share price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StoneCo has a beta of 1.75, suggesting that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Forge Global and StoneCo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Forge Global | -71.87% | -29.06% | -24.63% |
| StoneCo | 22.92% | 22.19% | 4.10% |
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Forge Global | $92.88 million | 6.71 | -$66.33 million | ($5.20) | -8.65 |
| StoneCo | $13.59 billion | 0.17 | $425.73 million | $2.48 | 3.80 |
StoneCo has higher revenue and earnings than Forge Global. Forge Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than StoneCo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Forge Global and StoneCo, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Forge Global | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 |
| StoneCo | 0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2.40 |
Forge Global presently has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. StoneCo has a consensus price target of $14.30, suggesting a potential upside of 51.56%. Given StoneCo’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe StoneCo is more favorable than Forge Global.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
40.7% of Forge Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.2% of StoneCo shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Forge Global shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of StoneCo shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
StoneCo beats Forge Global on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Forge Global
Forge Global Holdings, Inc. operates a financial services platform in California. The company's platform solutions include trading solutions, a platform that connects investors with private company stockholders and enables them to facilitate private share transactions; and custody solutions, a non-depository trust company that enables clients to securely custody and manage assets through an online portal. It also provides data solutions, such as information and insight to navigate, analyze, and make investment decisions to market participants in the private market. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
About StoneCo
StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team. The company served small-and-medium-sized businesses; and marketplaces, e-commerce platforms, and integrated software vendors. StoneCo Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in George Town, the Cayman Islands.
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