Head-To-Head Review: Acorn Energy (OTCMKTS:ACFN) and BIO-key International (NASDAQ:BKYI)

BIO-key International (NASDAQ:BKYI) and Acorn Energy (OTCMKTS:ACFN) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for BIO-key International and Acorn Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BIO-key International	1	0	0	0	1.00
Acorn Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.5% of BIO-key International shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of BIO-key International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 35.1% of Acorn Energy 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.

Volatility and Risk

BIO-key International has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acorn Energy has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares BIO-key International and Acorn Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BIO-key International	-70.23%	-73.33%	-43.89%
Acorn Energy	56.00%	78.08%	28.31%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BIO-key International and Acorn Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BIO-key International	$6.93 million	1.08	-$4.30 million	($1.04)	-0.66
Acorn Energy	$12.63 million	3.27	$6.29 million	$2.65	6.22

Acorn Energy has higher revenue and earnings than BIO-key International. BIO-key International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acorn Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Acorn Energy beats BIO-key International on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BIO-key International

BIO-key International, Inc. develops and markets fingerprint identification biometric technology and software solutions, and enterprise-ready identity access management solutions for commercial, government, and education customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers BIO-key PortalGuard and PortalGuard IDaaS solutions, a customer-controlled and neutral-by-design cloud-based identity platform that allows customers to integrate with any cloud or on-premises SaaS application, as well as windows device authentication through IAM platform. Its solutions enable its customers to secure their workforces and student populations; and make their partner networks more collaborative. In addition, it provides BIO-key VST and WEB-key products; and Civil and Large-Scale ID Infrastructure solutions that develops finger-based biometric technology. Further, it offers finger scanners for enterprise and consumer markets under SideSwipe, EcoID, and SidePass brand names. The company was formerly known as SAC Technologies and changed its name to BIO-key International, Inc. in 2002. BIO-key International, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Wall, New Jersey.

About Acorn Energy

Acorn Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops and markets wireless remote monitoring and control systems for various markets in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Power Generation (PG) Monitoring and Cathodic Protection (CP) Monitoring. The PG segment provides wireless remote monitoring and control systems, and services for critical assets, which include stand-by power generators, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers, turbines, compressors, fire pumps, and other industrial equipment; and Internet of Things applications. The CP segment offers remote monitoring and control products for cathodic protection systems utilized in gas pipelines for gas utilities market and pipeline operators. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.