Critical Review: EverCommerce (NASDAQ:EVCM) versus Aware (NASDAQ:AWRE)

EverCommerce (NASDAQ:EVCM) and Aware (NASDAQ:AWRE) 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 earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for EverCommerce and Aware, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EverCommerce	1	2	8	0	2.64
Aware	0	0	0	0	N/A

EverCommerce presently has a consensus target price of $11.45, indicating a potential upside of 8.47%. Given EverCommerce’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe EverCommerce is more favorable than Aware.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares EverCommerce and Aware”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EverCommerce	$691.69 million	2.82	-$45.62 million	($0.21)	-50.14
Aware	$18.24 million	2.11	-$7.31 million	($0.33)	-5.52

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.9% of EverCommerce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.4% of Aware shares are held by institutional investors. 11.5% of EverCommerce shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 28.0% of Aware shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

EverCommerce has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aware has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares EverCommerce and Aware’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EverCommerce	-6.31%	-5.33%	-2.91%
Aware	-26.49%	-9.01%	-6.73%

Summary

EverCommerce beats Aware on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EverCommerce

EverCommerce Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated software-as-a-service solutions for service-based small and medium sized businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's solutions include business management software that offers route-based dispatching, medical practice management, and gym member management solutions; billing and payment solutions comprising e-invoicing, mobile payments, and integrated payment processing; customer experience solution, which include reputation management and messaging solutions; and marketing technology solutions that cover websites, hosting, and digital lead generation. It also provides EverPro suite of solutions in home services; EverHealth suite of solutions within health services; and EverWell suite of solutions in fitness and wellness services. In addition, the company offers professional services, such as implementation, configuration, installation, or training services. It serves home service professionals, including home improvement contractors and home maintenance technicians; physician practices and therapists in the health services industry; and personal trainers and salon owners in the fitness and wellness sectors. The company was formerly known as PaySimple Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to EverCommerce Inc. in December 2020. EverCommerce Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Aware

Aware, Inc., an authentication company, provides biometrics software products and solutions for government agencies and commercial entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers biometric software solution, including Knomi, a mobile biometric framework which provides multiple biometric modality options; AwareABIS, an automated biometric identification system used for large-scale biometric identification and deduplication; AFIX suite used for small-scale law enforcement focused biometric identification; and AFIX Tracker for fingerprint, palmprint, and latent print identification, as well as AFIX Face, AFIX Verifier, AFIX Identifier, AFIX Comparator, AFIX Engine, and AFIX NIST Transaction Engine. It also provides BioSP, a biometric integration platform-as-a-service that enables biometric data processing and management functionality in a web services architecture; WebEnroll, a browser-based biometric enrollment and data management solution; and AwareID, a software-as-a-service that provides identity verification and continuous authentication capabilities. In addition, the company offers biometrics applications, such as Nexa line, a biometric search and match SDKs including Nexa Fingerprint, Nexa Face, Nexa Iris, and Nexa Voice; and AwareXM, an interoperable fingerprint matching SDK that provides fingerprint minutiae extraction, template generation, and fingerprint authentication. Further, it sells imaging products used in medical and advanced imaging application; and offers software maintenance, program management, and software engineering services. The company sells its products, services, and solutions through systems integrators, direct, and original equipment manufacturers and value added resellers channel. Aware, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.