Financial Survey: Lesaka Technologies (NASDAQ:LSAK) vs. Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW)

Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) and Lesaka Technologies (NASDAQ:LSAK) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Flywire and Lesaka Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flywire	4.77%	4.08%	2.81%
Lesaka Technologies	0.43%	1.65%	0.46%

Risk & Volatility

Flywire has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lesaka Technologies has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Flywire and Lesaka Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flywire	0	7	8	0	2.53
Lesaka Technologies	0	2	0	1	2.67

Flywire currently has a consensus price target of $20.23, indicating a potential upside of 16.67%. Lesaka Technologies has a consensus price target of $7.56, indicating a potential upside of 80.00%. Given Lesaka Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lesaka Technologies is more favorable than Flywire.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.9% of Flywire shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.2% of Lesaka Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Flywire shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.1% of Lesaka Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Flywire and Lesaka Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flywire	$623.03 million	3.39	$13.50 million	$0.26	66.69
Lesaka Technologies	$721.55 million	0.50	$2.76 million	$0.04	105.00

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

Summary

Flywire beats Lesaka Technologies on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flywire

Flywire Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a payments enablement and software company in the United States and internationally. Its payment platform and network, and vertical-specific software help clients to get paid and help their customers to pay. The company’s platform facilitates payment flows across multiple currencies, payment types, and payment options, as well as provides direct connections to alternative payment methods, such as Alipay, Boleto, PayPal/Venmo, and Trustly. It serves education, healthcare, travel, and business to business organizations. The company was formerly known as peerTransfer Corporation and changed its name to Flywire Corporation in December 2016. Flywire Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Lesaka Technologies

Lesaka Technologies, Inc. operates as a Fintech company that utilizes its proprietary banking and payment technologies to deliver financial services solutions to merchants (B2B) and consumers (B2C) in Southern Africa. It offers cash management solutions, growth capital, card acquiring, bill payment technologies, and value-added services to formal and informal retail merchants, as well as banking, lending, and insurance solutions to consumers across Southern Africa. The company also engages in the sale of POS devices, SIM cards, and other consumables; and license of rights to use certain technology developed by the company, as well as offers related technology services. The company was formerly known as Net 1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Lesaka Technologies, Inc. in May 2022. Lesaka Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.