X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG) and Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Critical Analysis

X3 (NASDAQ:XTKG) and Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for X3 and Aspen Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
X3	0	0	0	0	N/A
Aspen Technology	0	2	3	0	2.60

Aspen Technology has a consensus price target of $219.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.16%. Given Aspen Technology’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Aspen Technology is more favorable than X3.

Profitability

This table compares X3 and Aspen Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
X3	N/A	N/A	N/A
Aspen Technology	-2.46%	2.76%	2.50%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.9% of X3 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.7% of Aspen Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.9% of X3 shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Aspen Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares X3 and Aspen Technology’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
X3	$16.83 million	0.03	-$109.60 million	N/A	N/A
Aspen Technology	$1.04 billion	11.46	-$107.76 million	($0.44)	-429.47

Aspen Technology has higher revenue and earnings than X3.

Risk & Volatility

X3 has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aspen Technology has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Aspen Technology beats X3 on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About X3

X3 Holdings Co Ltd. provides technology solutions and services worldwide. The company offers Global Trade Platform, a digital platform for trading partners, service providers, and government authorities. It also engages in bitcoin cryptomining operations, renewable energy projects, and agriculture technologies and trading. The company was formerly known as Powerbridge Technologies Co., Ltd. and changed its name to X3 Holdings Co Ltd. in January 2024. X3 Holdings Co Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About Aspen Technology

Aspen Technology, Inc. provides industrial software that focuses on helping customers in asset-intensive industries worldwide. The company's solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. Its software is used in performance engineering, modeling and design, supply chain management, predictive and prescriptive maintenance, digital grid management, and industrial data management. The company serves a range of asset-intensive industries, including oil and gas exploration and production; oil and gas processing and distribution; and oil and gas refining and marketing, as well as bulk and specialty chemicals, engineering and construction, power and utilities, metals and mining, and pharmaceuticals. Aspen Technology, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts. Aspen Technology, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of EMR Worldwide Inc.