Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 6 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Software industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Software Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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6 Undervalued Software Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 6 undervalued stocks in the Software industry for Thursday, August 01, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Software industry median.

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Bridgeline Digital Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Bridgeline Digital, Inc. is a marketing technology software company. Its Unbound platform is a digital platform that integrates Web content management, e-commerce, e-marketing, digital marketing, and Web analytics. It offers enterprise site search solutions with its Celebros Search and HawkSearch products. The Celebros Search is a commerce-oriented site search product that provides for natural language processing and incorporates artificial intelligence to present relevant search results based on long-tail keyword searches. HawkSearch is a site search, recommendation, and personalization application built for marketers, merchandisers, and developers to enhance online customer's content search. Its Woorank is a search engine optimization (SEO) audit tool that generates an instant performance audit of the site’s technical, on-page, and off-page SEO. Its TruPresence is a Web content management and e-commerce platform to support the needs of multi-unit organizations and franchises.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Bridgeline Digital Inc has a Value Score of 80, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Bridgeline Digital Inc’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.63 compared to the industry median at 3.78, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Bridgeline Digital Inc’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Bridgeline Digital Inc’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of (2.37%). Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Bridgeline Digital Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 3.28. This could make Bridgeline Digital Inc more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Cerence Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Cerence Inc. is a provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered assistants for connected and autonomous vehicles. The Company is engaged in selling software licenses and cloud-connected services. Its software platform is used to build virtual assistants that can communicate, find information and take action across an expanding variety of categories. Its software platform has a hybrid architecture combining edge software components with cloud-connected components. Its Edge software components are installed on a vehicle’s head unit and can operate without access to external networks and information. Its Cloud-connected components are comprised of certain speech and natural language understanding related technologies, AI-enabled personalization and context-based response frameworks, and a content integration platform. It delivers its solutions on a white-label basis, enabling its customers to deliver customized virtual assistants with branded personalities.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Cerence Inc has a Value Score of 68, which is considered to be undervalued.

Cerence Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Cerence Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.28.

You can read more about Cerence Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

FDCTECH Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

FDCTech, Inc. provides financial technology (fintech) and business solutions to OTC Online Brokerages and cryptocurrency businesses (customers). The Company operates through three segments: Wealth Management, Technology and Software Development, and Margin Brokerage Business. The Company operates its Wealth Management segment through its subsidiary, AD Advisory Services Pty Ltd. (ADS). ADS provides licensing solutions for financial advisers and accountants in Australia. ADS offers financial planners different licensing, compliance and education solutions to meet their practice’s specific needs. It operates its Technology & Software Development segment through its subsidiary, Condor Trading Technology, which is a technology provider and software developer in the cryptocurrency or digital asset space. It operates its Margin Brokerage Business segment through its subsidiary, NSFX Ltd, which is an online trading brokerage firm.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

FDCTECH Inc has a Value Score of 65, which is considered to be undervalued.

FDCTECH Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 2.4 compared to the industry median at 45.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes FDCTECH Inc more attractive for value investors.

FDCTECH Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make FDCTECH Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.28.

You can read more about FDCTECH Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

WM Technology Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

WM Technology, Inc. operates the online cannabis marketplace for consumers together with a set of eCommerce and compliance software solutions for cannabis businesses, which are sold to retailers and brands in the United States and Canadian cannabis markets. The Company?s business primarily consists of its commerce-driven marketplace (Weedmaps), and its fully integrated suite of end-to-end software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions software offering (Weedmaps for Business). The Weedmaps marketplace provides cannabis consumers with information regarding cannabis retailers and brands. In addition, the Weedmaps marketplace aggregates data from a variety of sources, including retailer point-of-sale solutions to provide consumers to browse by strain, price, cannabinoids and other information regarding locally available cannabis products, through the Company?s website and mobile apps. Its subscription package includes WM Listings, WM Listings, WM Listings, WM Connectors and WM Insights.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

WM Technology Inc has a Value Score of 65, which is considered to be undervalued.

WM Technology Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make WM Technology Inc more attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.28.

You can read more about WM Technology Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Marin Software Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Marin Software Incorporated is a provider of digital marketing software for search, social and e-commerce channels, offered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) advertising management platform for advertisers and agencies advertisers and agencies. Its platform is an analytics, workflow and optimization solution for marketing professionals, allowing them to manage their digital advertising spend effectively. The Company market and sell its solutions to advertisers directly and through advertising agencies. Advertisers use its platform to create, target, and convert precise audiences based on recent buying signals from users' search, social, and e-commerce interactions. Its platform integrates with publishers, such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and others. Additionally, it has integrations with various Web analytics and advertisement-serving solutions and critical enterprise applications, enabling its customers to measure the return on investment of their marketing programs.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Marin Software Inc has a Value Score of 91, which is considered to be undervalued.

Marin Software Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Marin Software Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.28.

You can read more about Marin Software Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Perion Network Ltd’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Perion Network Ltd is an Israel-based global technology. The Company delivers the digital advertising. ecosystem, providing brands, agencies and publishers with a holistic ability to identify and reach their customers across all channels with high-impact creative units that are orchestrated by its proprietary Intelligent Hub (iHUB), which offers cross-sell. Perion Network Ltd operates in three main pillars of digital advertising: ad search, social media, and display ,video or CTV. Another aspect of Perion’s technological solutions, is SORT technology. SORT alternative technology is a machine learning model that analyzes millions of data combinations to create cookieless targeting groups consisting of people who think and react to ads like one another.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Perion Network Ltd has a Value Score of 92, which is considered to be undervalued.

Perion Network Ltd’s price-earnings ratio is 4.2 compared to the industry median at 45.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Perion Network Ltd more attractive for value investors.

Perion Network Ltd’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Perion Network Ltd less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.28.

You can read more about Perion Network Ltd’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Other Software Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Software stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 6 Best Software Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

• Bridgeline Digital Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Cerence Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• FDCTECH Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• WM Technology Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Marin Software Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Perion Network Ltd stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 6 undervalued stocks in the Software industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Additional Resources About Software Stocks

Want to learn more about Software stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

• 6 Undervalued Software Stocks for Thursday, August 01
• 5 Undervalued Software Stocks for Wednesday, July 31
• What You Need to Know About ANSYS Inc's Q2 Earnings
• What You Need to Know About Clearwater Analytics Holdings Inc's Q2 Earnings

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.