Critical Analysis: Steel Connect (NASDAQ:STCN) versus Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz (NASDAQ:KSPI)

Steel Connect (NASDAQ:STCN) and Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz (NASDAQ:KSPI) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Steel Connect and Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Steel Connect	50.53%	14.59%	3.67%
Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.3% of Steel Connect shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.7% of Steel Connect shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Steel Connect and Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Steel Connect	0	0	0	0	0.00
Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz	0	0	5	0	3.00

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz has a consensus target price of $156.40, suggesting a potential upside of 42.21%. Given Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz is more favorable than Steel Connect.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Steel Connect and Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Steel Connect	$174.11 million	0.36	$87.98 million	$3.07	3.21
Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz	$4.19 billion	5.23	$1.85 billion	N/A	N/A

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz has higher revenue and earnings than Steel Connect.

Summary

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz beats Steel Connect on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Steel Connect

Steel Connect, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides supply chain services in the United States, Mainland China, Netherlands, and internationally. It offers product configuration and packaging, kitting, and assembly of components and parts into finished goods; and value-added processes, such as product testing, radio frequency identification tagging, product or service activation, language settings, personalization and engraving, multi-channel packaging, and packaging design services. The company provides fulfillment services comprising order management, pick, pack and ship, retail compliance, and demand planning services; and reverse logistics services that simplifies the returns process for retailers and manufacturers, as well as operates a cloud-based e-commerce platform. In addition, it offers warehousing and inventory management services; and software licenses, maintenance, and support services. Further, the company offers its supply chain services to customers in the consumer electronics, communications, computing, medical devices, software, and retail markets. The company was formerly known as ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Steel Connect, Inc. in February 2018. Steel Connect, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz, together with its subsidiaries, provides payments, marketplace, and fintech solutions for consumers and merchants in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It operates through three segments: Payments Platform, Marketplace Platform, and Fintech Platform. The Payments Platform segment facilities transactions between customers and merchants. This segment offers shopping transactions, regular household bills, and peer to peer payments for consumers; accepts payment online and in store, issue and settle invoices, pay suppliers and monitor merchant turnover. It also provides proprietary data facilities informed decision making across multiple areas of business. Its Marketplace Platform segment connects online, and offline merchants and consumers enabling merchants to enhance its sales through an omni channel strategy and enable consumers to buy products and services from various merchants. This segment also operates marketplace through m-commerce, a mobile solution for shopping in person which consumers can use e-commerce to shop anywhere, anytime with free delivery; Kaspi Travel allows consumers to book domestic and international flights and package holidays, domestic rail tickets. It also enhances merchants sales by connecting payments and fintech products, Kapsi advertising, and other delivery services. The Fintech Platform segment provides consumers with BNPL, finance, and savings products and merchants with merchant finance services through super apps and Kapsi.kz Super app. It also involved in the banking; distressed asset management; real estate business; payment processing; online travel; and storage and processing of information services. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Almaty, the Republic of Kazakhstan.