Bridgeline Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN) and Benefitfocus Inc. (NASDAQ:BNFT) compete with each other in the Application Software sector. We will analyze and compare their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Bridgeline Digital Inc. | 11.97M | 0.28 | 12.06M | -1.63 | 0.00 |
| Benefitfocus Inc. | 258.72M | 5.70 | 52.63M | -1.48 | 0.00 |
Table 1 shows the gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation for Bridgeline Digital Inc. and Benefitfocus Inc.
Profitability
Table 2 demonstrates the net margins, return on equity and return on assets of Bridgeline Digital Inc. and Benefitfocus Inc.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Bridgeline Digital Inc. | -100.75% | -72.8% | -43% |
| Benefitfocus Inc. | -20.34% | 207.9% | -25.4% |
Risk & Volatility
Bridgeline Digital Inc. has a beta of 0.91 and its 9.00% less volatile than Standard and Poor’s 500. Competitively, Benefitfocus Inc.’s beta is 1.17 which is 17.00% more volatile than Standard and Poor’s 500.
Liquidity
The Current Ratio and Quick Ratio of Bridgeline Digital Inc. are 1 and 1 respectively. Its competitor Benefitfocus Inc.’s Current Ratio is 0.9 and its Quick Ratio is 0.9. Bridgeline Digital Inc. can pay off short and long-term obligations better than Benefitfocus Inc.
Analyst Recommendations
The table shown features the ratings and recommendations for Bridgeline Digital Inc. and Benefitfocus Inc.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Bridgeline Digital Inc. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Benefitfocus Inc. | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2.60 |
Competitively Benefitfocus Inc. has a consensus target price of $57, with potential upside of 23.81%.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
Roughly 3% of Bridgeline Digital Inc. shares are held by institutional investors while 98.6% of Benefitfocus Inc. are owned by institutional investors. Bridgeline Digital Inc.’s share held by insiders are 25.02%. Comparatively, Benefitfocus Inc. has 0.5% of it’s share held by insiders.
Performance
Here are the Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Yearly and YTD Performance of both pretenders.
| Performance (W) | Performance (M) | Performance (Q) | Performance (HY) | Performance (Y) | Performance (YTD) | |
| Bridgeline Digital Inc. | -11.37% | -21.47% | -70.17% | -74.36% | -86.57% | -87.22% |
| Benefitfocus Inc. | 1.42% | 20.12% | 18.99% | 51.45% | 89.94% | 88.19% |
For the past year Bridgeline Digital Inc. had bearish trend while Benefitfocus Inc. had bullish trend.
Summary
Benefitfocus Inc. beats on 9 of the 11 factors Bridgeline Digital Inc.
Bridgeline Digital, Inc. operates as a digital engagement company in the United States. The companyÂ’s iAPPS platform enables companies and developers to create Websites, Web applications, and online stores. It offers iAPPS Experience Manager, a marketing automation engine and content management system; iAPPS Content Manager that enables non-technical users to create, edit, and publish content via a browser-based interface; and iAPPS Commerce, an online B2B and B2C e-commerce solution, which allows users to manage domestic and international commerce initiatives. The company also provides iAPPS Marketier, an online marketing management solution that helps marketers drive to their sites through personalized and targeted marketing automation flows; and iAPPS Analyzer to manage, measure, and optimize Web properties by recording detailed events and mining data for statistical analysis. In addition, it offers iAPPS Social, a social media management solution that empowers customers to set up customized watch lists; and iAPPSds, a Web content management and e-commerce platform to multi-unit organizations and franchises. Further, the company provides digital strategy, Web design and development, usability engineering, information architecture, and search engine optimization services; co-location, application monitoring, emergency response, version control, load balancing, managed firewall security, and virus protection services; and shared, dedicated, and Software as a Service hosting services. It serves vertical markets, such as financial services, franchises/multi-unit organizations, retail brand names, health services and life sciences, technology, credit unions and regional banks, and associations and foundations through its direct sales force. The company was formerly known as Bridgeline Software, Inc. and changed its name to Bridgeline Digital, Inc. in March 2010. Bridgeline Digital, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Benefitfocus, Inc. provides cloud-based benefits management platform for consumers, employers, insurance carriers, and brokers in the United States. It operates through Employer and Carrier segments. The companyÂ’s products for insurance carriers include Marketplaces, which are online shopping environments; eEnrollment that provides online enrollment for benefits; eBilling, an electronic invoice presentment and payment solution; eExchange, a solution for communication; eSales for carriers and brokers to organize and manage accounts, track leads, generate quotes, and create proposals for products; and Core & Advanced Analytics, a data analytics solution. Its products for employers include Benefitfocus Marketplace that streamlines online enrollment, employee communication, and benefit administration; Communication Portal, an employee engagement portal; BenefitStore, a solution for employees to avail various ancillary benefits; ACA Compliance and Reporting, a solution for employers to manage ACA compliance; and eBilling and Payment, an electronic invoice presentment and payment application. In addition, the company provides professional and customer support services, which include implementation services, such as discovery, configuration, deployment, integration, testing, training, and technical support; HR support services; and video library services. Further, it offers partner offerings, such as RedBrick Health that provides access to customizable health assessments, digital coaching, tracking, and challenges; LifeLock that allows employees to purchase identity theft protection; SAP SuccessFactors that provides employee performance management solutions; and WageWorks that supports benefits, such as health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement, and other programs. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.