Critical Analysis: LightInTheBox (NYSE:LITB) & Asure Software (NASDAQ:ASUR)

LightInTheBox (NYSE:LITB) and Asure Software (NASDAQ:ASUR) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for LightInTheBox and Asure Software, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LightInTheBox	0	0	0	0	0.00
Asure Software	0	0	6	0	3.00

Asure Software has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 48.60%. Given Asure Software’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Asure Software is more favorable than LightInTheBox.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.8% of LightInTheBox shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.6% of Asure Software shares are held by institutional investors. 62.2% of LightInTheBox shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Asure Software shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

LightInTheBox has a beta of 0.21, suggesting that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Asure Software has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares LightInTheBox and Asure Software’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LightInTheBox	0.63%	-11.29%	2.04%
Asure Software	-11.27%	4.52%	2.00%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LightInTheBox and Asure Software”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LightInTheBox	$231.14 million	0.11	-$2.49 million	$0.10	13.75
Asure Software	$119.79 million	2.29	-$11.77 million	($0.53)	-19.05

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

About LightInTheBox

LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an online retailer that delivers products directly to its consumers worldwide. The company provides apparel products; and other general merchandise products, such as small accessories and gadgets, home garden, toys and hobbies, electronics and communication devices, and other products. It also offers supplier chain management, research and development, customer, marketing, warehouse management, local delivery, and fulfillment services, as well as engages in the product sourcing, marketing, and operation of its websites and mobile applications. The company provides its products through www.lightinthebox.com and www.ezbuy.sg, and other websites and mobile applications. LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd. was founded in 2007 and is based in Singapore.

About Asure Software

Asure Software, Inc. engages in the provision of cloud-based Human Capital Management (HCM) software solutions in the United States. It provides its human resources (HR) tool as Software-as-a-Service that helps various small and medium-sized businesses to build productive workforce to help them stay compliant and allocate resources to grow their business. The company's solutions include Asure Payroll & Tax, an integrated solution that simplifies payroll and automates regulations associated with payroll and taxes, including wages, benefits, overtime, garnishments, tips, direct deposits, and fair labor standard act, as well as federal, state, and local payroll taxes; and Tax Management Solutions, that provides payroll tax processing software and service solutions, as well as bulk filing and processing support of employee retention tax credits, for the payroll service industry, mid-market, and corporate employers. It also provides HR compliance and services, including HR support, which provides an on-demand HR resource library, phone, and email support for various HR issues and compliance, and policy updates; Strategic HR, which provides in-depth support for strategic HR decision making; and Total HR, which provides a complete HR outsourcing solution, for handling HR complexities, such as employee self-service, applicant tracking, onboarding, and compliance. In addition, the company offers Time and Attendance, which provides cost savings and return on investment gains come in the form of strategic use of labor dollars and the elimination of time theft; and AsureMarketplace that automates interactions between its HCM systems with third-party providers. Asure Software, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.