Analyzing Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) & AvePoint (NASDAQ:AVPT)

Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) and AvePoint (NASDAQ:AVPT) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Dayforce and AvePoint’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dayforce	1.03%	6.49%	1.75%
AvePoint	-2.36%	-3.16%	-1.55%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Dayforce and AvePoint, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dayforce	0	6	10	0	2.63
AvePoint	0	2	3	0	2.60

Dayforce presently has a consensus price target of $76.79, indicating a potential upside of 37.69%. AvePoint has a consensus price target of $15.75, indicating a potential upside of 6.20%. Given Dayforce’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Dayforce is more favorable than AvePoint.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Dayforce and AvePoint”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dayforce	$1.76 billion	5.01	$18.10 million	$0.11	506.97
AvePoint	$330.48 million	9.06	-$21.50 million	($0.16)	-92.69

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

44.5% of AvePoint shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Dayforce shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 26.2% of AvePoint shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Dayforce has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AvePoint has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Dayforce beats AvePoint on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dayforce

Dayforce Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a human capital management (HCM) software company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers Dayforce, a cloud HCM platform that provides human resources, payroll and tax, workforce management, wallet, benefits, and talent intelligence functionalities; and Powerpay, a cloud HR and payroll solution for the small business market. The company also provides payroll and payroll-related services; and implementation and professional services. It sells its solutions through direct sales force and third-party channels. The company was formerly known as Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. and changed its name to Dayforce Inc. in February 2024. Dayforce Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About AvePoint

AvePoint, Inc. provides cloud-native data management software platform in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. It also offers software-as-a-service solutions and productivity applications. The company offers modularity and cloud services architecture to address critical challenges and the management of data to organizations that leverage third-party cloud vendors, including Microsoft, Salesforce, Google, AWS, Box, DropBox, and others; license and support; and maintenance services. AvePoint, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.