Contrasting Richtech Robotics (NASDAQ:RR) and MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK)

MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK) and Richtech Robotics (NASDAQ:RR) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MeridianLink and Richtech Robotics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MeridianLink	$316.30 million	4.68	-$29.77 million	($0.29)	-68.84
Richtech Robotics	$4.24 million	140.70	-$8.14 million	($0.17)	-23.41

Richtech Robotics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MeridianLink. MeridianLink is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Richtech Robotics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares MeridianLink and Richtech Robotics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MeridianLink	-6.90%	-4.50%	-1.95%
Richtech Robotics	-366.21%	-23.85%	-23.37%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for MeridianLink and Richtech Robotics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MeridianLink	2	6	0	0	1.75
Richtech Robotics	0	0	2	0	3.00

MeridianLink currently has a consensus target price of $20.07, suggesting a potential upside of 0.53%. Richtech Robotics has a consensus target price of $3.25, suggesting a potential downside of 18.34%. Given MeridianLink’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MeridianLink is more favorable than Richtech Robotics.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.7% of MeridianLink shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Richtech Robotics shares are held by institutional investors. 6.0% of MeridianLink shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.3% of Richtech Robotics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

MeridianLink has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Richtech Robotics has a beta of -4.46, meaning that its stock price is 546% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About MeridianLink

MeridianLink, Inc., a software and services company, provides software solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage lenders, specialty lending providers, and consumer reporting agencies in the United States. The company offers MeridianLink One, a multi-product platform that can be tailored to meet the needs of customers as they digitally transform their organizations and adapt to changing business and consumer demands; MeridianLink Portal, a Point of Sale system that allows financial institutions to expand existing lending and deposit account; MeridianLink Opening, a cloud-based online account opening and deposit software solution; MeridianLink Consumer, a full loan solution suite to banks and credit unions; and MeridianLink DecisionLender, a loan origination software (LOS) for finance companies. It also provides MeridianLink Mortgage, a cloud-based software designed for financial professionals to optimize the end-to-end mortgage loan origination process; MeridianLink Collect, a web-based debt collection software; Mortgage Credit Link, a web-based order fulfillment hub; and MeridianLink Business, a cloud-based platform that offers business lending solutions for banks and credit unions. In addition, the company provides analytics and business intelligence tools through MeridianLink Engage, MeridianLink Consulting, MeridianLink Data Connect, and MeridianLink Insight; Data Verification Software Solution, a cloud-based order fulfillment hub for bankers and credit officers; and loan origination systems, other credit decisioning tools, and additional solution modules. MeridianLink, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California.

About Richtech Robotics

Richtech Robotics Inc. develops, manufactures, deploys, and sells robotic solutions for automation in the service industry. The company offers indoor transport and delivery, sanitation, and food and beverage automation solutions, such as ADAM and ARM worker robots; delivery robots, including Matradee, Matradee X, Matradee L, Richie, and Robbie; and cleaning robots comprising DUST-E SX, and DUST-E MX, as well as accessories, such as bus tubs, cup holders, magnetic tray cases, smartwatches, table location systems, and tray covers. It primarily serves restaurants, hotels, casinos, senior living centers, factories, and retail centers, as well as hospitals, and movie theaters. The company was formerly known as Richtech Creative Displays LLC and changed its name to Richtech Robotics Inc. on June 22, 2022. Richtech Robotics Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.