Contrasting iPic Entertainment (OTCMKTS:IPIC) and Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR)

iPic Entertainment (OTCMKTS:IPIC) and Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares iPic Entertainment and Ark Restaurants”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
iPic Entertainment	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ark Restaurants	$165.75 million	0.14	-$11.47 million	($1.74)	-3.79

iPic Entertainment has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ark Restaurants.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for iPic Entertainment and Ark Restaurants, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
iPic Entertainment	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ark Restaurants	1	0	0	0	1.00

Given iPic Entertainment’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe iPic Entertainment is more favorable than Ark Restaurants.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.0% of Ark Restaurants shares are held by institutional investors. 50.7% of iPic Entertainment shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.5% of Ark Restaurants shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares iPic Entertainment and Ark Restaurants’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
iPic Entertainment	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ark Restaurants	-3.97%	-8.49%	-2.09%

Volatility and Risk

iPic Entertainment has a beta of -2.08, suggesting that its stock price is 308% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ark Restaurants has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

iPic Entertainment beats Ark Restaurants on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About iPic Entertainment

iPic Entertainment Inc. operates restaurants and theaters in the United States. The company operates casual restaurants, farm-to-glass full-service bars, and theater auditoriums with in-theater dining. It operates restaurants under the City Perch Kitchen + Bar, Tanzy, The Tuck Room, The Tuck Room Tavern, and iPic Express brands. It operates screens in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

About Ark Restaurants

Ark Restaurants Corp., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates restaurants and bars in the United States. It operates restaurants in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Florida; and Alabama, as well as fast food concepts and catering operations. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in New York, New York.