Gopher Protocol (OTCMKTS:GOPH) vs. Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR) Critical Review

Gopher Protocol (OTCMKTS:GOPH) and Issuer Direct (NYSE:ISDR) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Gopher Protocol and Issuer Direct’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gopher Protocol	-80.22%	-284.85%	-136.31%
Issuer Direct	2.43%	9.01%	4.88%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Gopher Protocol and Issuer Direct, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gopher Protocol	0	0	0	0	N/A
Issuer Direct	0	0	0	0	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Gopher Protocol has a beta of 3.22, suggesting that its stock price is 222% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Issuer Direct has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Issuer Direct shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.1% of Issuer Direct shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Gopher Protocol and Issuer Direct’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gopher Protocol	$51.57 million	0.00	-$51.77 million	N/A	N/A
Issuer Direct	$33.38 million	0.90	$770,000.00	$0.20	39.23

Issuer Direct has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Gopher Protocol.

Summary

Issuer Direct beats Gopher Protocol on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gopher Protocol

Gopher Protocol Inc., a development-stage company, engages in developing Internet of Things and artificial intelligence enabled mobile technology. Its technology consists of a smart microchip, mobile application software, and supporting software. The company also sells phones and phone card products, including PINS, SIM cards, and gift cards. The company was formerly known as Forex International Trading Corp. and changed its name to Gopher Protocol Inc. in February 2015. Gopher Protocol Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

About Issuer Direct

Issuer Direct Corporation operates as a communications and compliance company, provides solutions for both public relations and investor relations professionals in the United States and internationally. The company provides press release distribution, media databases, media monitoring, and newsrooms through media advantage platform; ACCESSWIRE, a news dissemination and media outreach service; and Webcaster Platform, a cloud-based webcast, webinar, and virtual meeting platform that delivers live and on-demand streaming of events to audiences of various sizes, as well as allows customers to create, produce, and deliver events. It also offers professional conference and events software, a mobile app that offers organizers, issuers, and investors to register, request, and approve one-on-one meetings, as well as manage schedules, perform event promotion and sponsorship, print attendee badges, and manage lodging; and investor relations content network, a series of data feeds, which include news feeds, stock feeds, fundamentals, regulatory filings, corporate governance, and other components. In addition, the company provides whistleblower hotline, a system that delivers secure notifications and basic incident workflow management processes that align with a company's corporate governance whistleblower policy; stock transfer module, which offers access to real-time information about their shareholders, stock ledgers, and reports, as well as issues new shares; and proxy module, a real-time voting platform for customers and their shareholders of record. It serves public and private companies, mutual funds, law firms, brokerage firms, investment banks, individuals, and other institutions. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.