Critical Analysis: Inuvo (NYSE:INUV) & INEO Tech (OTC:INEOF)

Inuvo (NYSE:INUV) and INEO Tech (OTC:INEOF) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Inuvo and INEO Tech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Inuvo	-14.06%	-56.15%	-31.25%
INEO Tech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Inuvo and INEO Tech’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Inuvo	$73.91 million	0.62	-$10.39 million	($0.09)	-3.67
INEO Tech	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

INEO Tech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Inuvo.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Inuvo and INEO Tech, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Inuvo	0	0	1	0	3.00
INEO Tech	0	0	0	0	N/A

Inuvo presently has a consensus target price of $1.00, suggesting a potential upside of 202.94%. Given Inuvo’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Inuvo is more favorable than INEO Tech.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

29.4% of Inuvo shares are held by institutional investors. 9.1% of Inuvo shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Inuvo beats INEO Tech on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Inuvo

Inuvo, Inc. engages in the advertising technology and services business primarily in the United States. It sells information technology solutions to brands, agencies, and large consolidators of advertising demand (platforms). Its platforms optimize the purchase and placement of advertising in real time. The company's products and services include IntentKey, an artificial intelligence-based consumer intent recognition system designed to reach targeted mobile and desktop in-market audiences which can serve multiple creative formats including display, video, audio and native across multiple device types including desktop, mobile, tablet, connected/smart TV and game consoles. It also offers Bonfire, a marketing and advertising solution which can be provided directly to brands and where a collection of data, analytics, software and publishing is used to align advertising messages with consumers across websites online. The company's marketing channels consist of websites, social media, blogs, public relations, trade shows, and conferences. Inuvo, Inc. is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.

About INEO Tech

INEO Tech Corp., through its subsidiary, INEO Solutions Inc., provides analytics and advertising services through cloud-based internet of things in Canada. Its technology combines security tag readers for digital advertising at the entrance and exit of retail stores. The company's cloud-based platform uses Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technology to deliver digital advertising to each retail location based on the demographic mix, such as age and gender, of customer traffic at each location. In addition, it offers INEO Welcoming Network technology through a SaaS-based solution to retail chains. INEO Tech Corp. is headquartered in Surrey, Canada.