Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 4 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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4 Undervalued Software Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 4 undervalued stocks in the Software industry for Thursday, October 17, 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.

Agora, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Agora, Inc. operates in real-time engagement technology business in the People’s Republic of China, the United States, and internationally. The company offers real-time engagement platform-as-a-services providing developers with application programming interfaces to embed real-time voice, video, interactive live-streaming, chat, whiteboard, and artificial intelligence capabilities into their applications. It also provides video and voice calling, interactive live and broadcast streaming, chat, signaling, and interactive whiteboard products; and extensions, such as analytics, recording, AI noise suppression, 3D spatial audio, real-time transcription, and extensions marketplace. In addition, the company offers Application Platforms, including Flexible Classroom, a low-code application Platform as a Service, which combines video, voice, chat, signaling, whiteboard and recording functionalities into an integrated cloud-based solution for education providers; and App Builder, a no-code application platform, designed for developers with little or no coding experience to build their own applications with video conference and live streaming functionalities. It operates through Agora and Shengwang brands. Agora, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

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.

Agora, Inc. has a Value Score of 92, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Agora, Inc.’s price-to-sales ratio at 1.99 compared to the industry median at 3.81, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Agora, 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. Agora, Inc.’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of (2.70%). 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. Agora, Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 3.64. This could make Agora, Inc. more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Karooooo Ltd.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Karooooo Ltd. provides mobility software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for connected vehicles in South Africa, rest of Africa, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the United States. It operates through Cartrack, Carzuka, and Karooooo Logistics segments. The company offers Fleet Telematics, a fleet management SaaS platform that provides real-time insights; LiveVision for pro-active risk management and fleet visibility; MiFleet advanced fleet administration and business intelligence for cost management and administration capabilities; and Karooooo Logistics, a software application for management of last mile delivery and general operational logistics. It also provides Cartrack Field Service, a software application for management of field and on site workers; Business Intelligence for high-level view of fleet statistics; asset tracking for tracking and tracing moveable assets; asset recovery services that assists vehicle owners and insurance companies with the recovery of vehicles and other assets; and insurance telematics that allows insurers to tailor premiums for commercial and consumer customers using analytics; Protector, a safety package for consumer vehicles; and Car Watch, a mobile application that lets users track and watch their vehicles. In addition, the company offers Bike Track, a GPS-based solution for commercial motorbike fleets; Credit Management that predicts payment cycles and facilitate active credit management for asset-based vehicle finance; electronic monitoring services application that allows law enforcement agencies to monitor persons of interest; and mobility and monitoring solutions, such as Carzuka and cartrack insurance agency, as well as smart IoT products. It provides its solutions through direct sales force to consumers and sole proprietors, small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises, and other connected devices. Karooooo Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Singapore.

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.

Karooooo Ltd. has a Value Score of 67, which is considered to be undervalued.

Karooooo Ltd.’s price-earnings ratio is 25.1 compared to the industry median at 41.8. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Karooooo Ltd. more attractive for value investors.

Karooooo Ltd.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Karooooo Ltd. less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.64.

You can read more about Karooooo 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.

Porch Group, Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Porch Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a vertical software and insurance platform in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Vertical Software and Insurance. The Vertical Software segment provides software and services to inspection, mortgage, and title companies on a subscription and transactional basis, as well as move and post-move services. This segment offers inspection software and services, title insurance software, mortgage software, moving services, mover and homeowner marketing, and measurement software for roofers. The Insurance segment offers consumers with insurance and warranty products to protect their homes. This segment provides property-related insurance and captive reinsurance products; and warranty products under the Porch Warranty, American Home Protect, and Residential Warranty Services brands. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

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.

Porch Group, Inc. has a Value Score of 80, which is considered to be undervalued.

You can read more about Porch Group, 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.

VirnetX Holding Corporation’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

VirnetX Holding Corporation, through its subsidiary VirnetX, Inc., operates as an Internet security software and technology company primarily in the United States. The company develops software and technology solutions, including secure domain name registry and GABRIEL Connection Technology that are designed to secure communications over the Internet using zero trust network access. It also offers a portfolio of licenses and services, such as VirnetX One, a security-as-a-service platform that protects enterprise applications, services, and infrastructure from cyber-attacks; GABRIEL Connection Technology software development kit to assist with rapid integration of its techniques into existing software implementations; War Room software that offers safe and secure video conferencing meeting environment where sensitive communications and data is invisible to those not authorized to view it; and VirnetX Matrix that provides security for internet-enabled enterprise applications and their connected devices. In addition, the company provides GABRIEL Collaboration Suite that enables seamless and secure cross-platform communications between users’ devices. It serves domain infrastructure and communication service providers, and system integrators; and enterprise customers, developers, and original equipment manufacturers of chips, servers, desktops, smart phones, tablets, laptops, net books, and other devices in the IP-telephony, mobility, fixed-mobile convergence, and unified communications markets. The company has a partnership with ObjectSecurity LLC to provide secure cyber vulnerability analysis in private cloud environments. VirnetX Holding Corporation was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.

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.

VirnetX Holding Corporation has a Value Score of 92, which is considered to be undervalued.

VirnetX Holding Corporation’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make VirnetX Holding Corporation less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 3.64.

You can read more about VirnetX Holding Corporation’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 4 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.

• Agora, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of A.
• Karooooo Ltd. stock has a Value Grade of B.
• Porch Group, Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.
• VirnetX Holding Corporation stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 4 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.

• 4 Undervalued Software Stocks for Thursday, October 17
• 3 Undervalued Software Stocks for Wednesday, October 16
• 4 Undervalued Software Stocks for Tuesday, October 15
• 6 Undervalued Software Stocks for Monday, October 14

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.