Contrasting flyExclusive (NYSE:FLYX) and Wheels Up Experience (NYSE:UP)

flyExclusive (NYSE:FLYX) and Wheels Up Experience (NYSE:UP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for flyExclusive and Wheels Up Experience, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
flyExclusive	0	1	0	0	2.00
Wheels Up Experience	0	2	0	0	2.00

flyExclusive currently has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 109.30%. Given flyExclusive’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe flyExclusive is more favorable than Wheels Up Experience.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares flyExclusive and Wheels Up Experience’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
flyExclusive	N/A	N/A	$3.67 million	N/A	N/A
Wheels Up Experience	$1.25 billion	1.28	-$487.39 million	($13.93)	-0.17

flyExclusive has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Wheels Up Experience.

Profitability

This table compares flyExclusive and Wheels Up Experience’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
flyExclusive	N/A	-6.50%	0.74%
Wheels Up Experience	-38.89%	-291.29%	-21.24%

Risk & Volatility

flyExclusive has a beta of 0.2, indicating that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wheels Up Experience has a beta of 2.21, indicating that its stock price is 121% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

13.0% of flyExclusive shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.2% of Wheels Up Experience shares are held by institutional investors. 57.1% of flyExclusive shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Wheels Up Experience shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

flyExclusive beats Wheels Up Experience on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About flyExclusive

flyExclusive, Inc. owns and operates private jets in North America, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. The company also offers jet charter services; ownership and leaseback programs for aircraft buyers; and aircraft maintenance, repair, interior, and paint services. In addition, it provides jet cards, and interiors and exterior refurbishment services. The company is headquartered in Kinston, North Carolina. flyExclusive, Inc. is a subsidiary of LGM Enterprises, LLC.

About Wheels Up Experience

Wheels Up Experience Inc. provides private aviation services in the United States and internationally. The company offers membership programs consisting of Connect that offers members variable dynamic pricing on a per trip basis and flexibility on their schedule; Core for private flyers; and UP for Business for small and medium enterprise, and large corporate customers for whom it is primary provider of private flights, as well as supplementary solution to their own aircraft operations. It also provides charter flight solutions for passenger groups, sports teams, corporate event, and tour operations, as well as global passenger, cargo, emergency, and government services; wholesale and group charter services; maintenance, repair, and operations services; fixed-base operator services; safety and security services; and government, defense, emergency, and medical transport missions. It serves individuals, small and medium enterprises, and corporate customers. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a fleet of 185 owned and leased aircraft. Wheels Up Experience Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Chamblee, Georgia.