Critical Contrast: Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT) & Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN)

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) and Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Coinbase Global and Bakkt, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coinbase Global	1	9	10	0	2.45
Bakkt	1	0	1	0	2.00

Coinbase Global currently has a consensus price target of $255.22, indicating a potential downside of 18.75%. Bakkt has a consensus price target of $13.13, indicating a potential downside of 52.34%. Given Coinbase Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Coinbase Global is more favorable than Bakkt.

Profitability

This table compares Coinbase Global and Bakkt’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coinbase Global	29.76%	14.81%	0.41%
Bakkt	-2.84%	-62.65%	-5.94%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

68.8% of Coinbase Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.1% of Bakkt shares are held by institutional investors. 23.4% of Coinbase Global shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Bakkt shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Coinbase Global and Bakkt”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coinbase Global	$3.11 billion	25.30	$94.87 million	$5.86	53.60
Bakkt	$780.10 million	0.48	-$74.85 million	($12.23)	-2.25

Coinbase Global has higher revenue and earnings than Bakkt. Bakkt is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Coinbase Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Coinbase Global has a beta of 3.34, suggesting that its share price is 234% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bakkt has a beta of 4.71, suggesting that its share price is 371% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Coinbase Global beats Bakkt on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coinbase Global

Coinbase Global, Inc. provides financial infrastructure and technology for the crypto economy in the United States and internationally. The company offers the primary financial account in the crypto economy for consumers; and a marketplace with a pool of liquidity for transacting in crypto assets for institutions. It also provides technology and services that enable developers to build crypto products and securely accept crypto assets as payment. The company was founded in 2012 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

About Bakkt

Bakkt Holdings, Inc. offers software as a service and application programming interface solutions for crypto and loyalty, powering engagement, and performance. The company operates Bakkt Marketplace, a platform that enables consumers to buy, sell, and store crypto in an embedded web experience; Bakkt Crypto, a platform that supports clients with a range of crypto solutions; and Bakkt Trust, institutional-grade qualified custody solution for market participants. Its platform also offers a range of loyalty solutions, including redemption solutions for various rewards categories comprising travel, gift cards, and merchandise; travel solutions that offer a retail e-commerce booking platform, as well as live-agent booking and servicing; and unified shopping experience. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.