Analyzing Iveda Solutions (NASDAQ:IVDA) and AppTech Payments (NASDAQ:APCX)

AppTech Payments (NASDAQ:APCX) and Iveda Solutions (NASDAQ:IVDA) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for AppTech Payments and Iveda Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AppTech Payments	0	0	0	0	N/A
Iveda Solutions	0	0	0	0	N/A

Volatility & Risk

AppTech Payments has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Iveda Solutions has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.2% of AppTech Payments shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.3% of Iveda Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 8.5% of AppTech Payments shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.4% of Iveda Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AppTech Payments and Iveda Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AppTech Payments	$462,000.00	32.65	-$18.51 million	($0.92)	-0.66
Iveda Solutions	$6.50 million	0.64	-$3.23 million	($0.24)	-7.69

Iveda Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than AppTech Payments. Iveda Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AppTech Payments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares AppTech Payments and Iveda Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AppTech Payments	-2,648.70%	-451.88%	-191.88%
Iveda Solutions	-93.39%	-66.09%	-49.31%

Summary

Iveda Solutions beats AppTech Payments on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AppTech Payments

AppTech Payments Corp., a financial technology company, provides electronic payment processing technologies and merchant services in the United States. Its merchant transaction services offer processing payments for credit and debit cards through point-of-sale equipment, e-commerce gateways, periodic automatic clearing house payments, and gift and loyalty programs. The company also offers integrated solutions for frictionless digital and mobile payment acceptance, as well as multi-use case, multi-channel, API-driven, and account-based issuer processing for card, digital tokens, and payment transfer transaction services; hosted ecommerce checkout, a flexible payment gateway; and text payment technology, alternative payment methods (APMs), and contactless payments. In addition, it provides FinZeo, a fintech platform. The company was formerly known as AppTech Corp. AppTech Payments Corp. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

About Iveda Solutions

Iveda Solutions, Inc. provides artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation technologies in the United States, Egypt, and Taiwan. The company offers IvedaAI, a deep-learning video analytics software; IvedaPinpoint, a solution that manages Bluetooth trackers and sensors, and displays them on a map for exact location; and Sentir Video, a video surveillance solution for various kinds of applications. It also provides Cerebro IoT Platform, a software technology platform that integrates a multitude of disparate systems for central access and management of applications, subsystems, and devices; and IvedaSPS, a smart power solution utilizing in Cerebro IoT platform. In addition, the company offers Utilus smart pole solution that consists of power and Internet with a communication network for the access and management of sensors and devices. It serves airports, commercial buildings, government customers, data centers, shopping centers, hotels, banks, and safe city projects. Iveda Solutions, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is based in Mesa, Arizona.