Head-To-Head Contrast: NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) versus Innovex International (NYSE:INVX)

Innovex International (NYSE:INVX) and NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Innovex International and NPK International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Innovex International	1	0	0	1	2.50
NPK International	0	0	1	0	3.00

Innovex International presently has a consensus price target of $16.00, indicating a potential downside of 14.26%. NPK International has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 108.70%. Given NPK International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NPK International is more favorable than Innovex International.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Innovex International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of NPK International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Innovex International and NPK International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Innovex International	12.31%	-0.73%	-0.61%
NPK International	-28.47%	5.93%	4.08%

Risk & Volatility

Innovex International has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NPK International has a beta of 2.86, meaning that its stock price is 186% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Innovex International and NPK International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Innovex International	$660.80 million	1.96	$600,000.00	$1.83	10.20
NPK International	$217.49 million	2.29	$14.52 million	($1.72)	-3.34

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

Summary

NPK International beats Innovex International on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Innovex International

Innovex International, Inc. engages in the provision of solutions for both onshore and offshore applications within the oil and gas industry. The company was founded on September 15, 2016 and is headquartered in Humble, TX.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.