Net Element Inc (NASDAQ:NETE) Is Today's NASDAQ Focus

Shares of Net Element Inc (NASDAQ:NETE) are performing much better so far this year. This comes as there are a number of positives getting investors excited about the company again. These include insider buying, cancellation of convertible notes, revenues doubling, and the end of dilution. These are all important steps to getting the company back on track.Net Element operates a payments-as-a-service transactional and value-added services platform for small to medium enterprises in the US and selected emerging markets. In the US it aims to grow transactional revenue by innovating SME productivity services such as its cloud based, restaurant point-of-sale solution Aptito. Internationally, Net Element's strategy is to leverage its omni-channel platform to deliver flexible offerings to emerging markets with diverse banking, regulatory and demographic conditions such as UAE, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan where initiatives have been recently launched.While shares underperformed in 2015, the company did accomplish quite a bit. Total US Dollar volume transactions processed globally in 2015 exceeded $1.75 billion with an annual run rate of over $2 billion as of December 2015, an increase of 9.4% compared to $1.6 billion in 2014. Total transactions processed for 2015 exceeded 160.7 million compared to 51.9 million in 2014, an increase of 210%. Net Element acquired PayOnline, which led to new sources of revenue for the company by signing multi-year contracts with premium on-line dating networks such as Dating.com, AnastasiaDate, AmoLatina and AsianDate. DigitalProvider (formerly TOT Money), exceeded 3 million recurring mobile subscribers and experienced 171% subscriber growth from January 2015 to October 2015.Earlier this month, Net Element released its proprietary, cloud-based Aptito Point of Sale solution for retail stores. Aptito Retail POS cloud-based solution is available on Apple iOS platform and allows retailers to focus on their business and improve the in-store experience. It allows them to anticipate customer needs by tracking purchasing habits, inventory management and reduce customer wait times with quicker transactions. Retailers are also able to customize Aptito Retail POS based on their environment.Peripherals for Aptito Retail POS include a fully integrated cash drawer, thermal receipt printer, barcode scanner, barcode printer and EMV-compliant point of sale acceptance terminal. This allows retailers the ability to customize their POS solution based on their unique needs. Aptito Retail POS software is available for free to any retailer who chooses to process payments through Net Element's Unified Payments. The complete system is available for purchase now and with hardware bundles at a starting price of $39 per month.Just recently, Net Element launched Aptito for the hospitality industry in the Russian Federation. Aptito hospitality POS and business management platform is now available in Russia (http://www.aptito.ru) and allows restaurants to focus on their business and improve user experience by providing a complete package of tools to increase sales, productivity, customer service, customer experience and retention. Aptito combines traditional POS functionality with digital menus, mobile ordering, mobile payment acceptance, social media and a wide range of business management features such as table management, menu management, inventory management, reservation, scheduling and payroll management.Aptito allows restaurant staff to place orders directly from their mobile devices and accept payments table side, which generates faster service, quicker table turnover and less wait time for customers. Aptito hospitality POS and business management platform is currently available to restaurant owners for an introductory price that is compelling to merchants. The complete system is available for purchase now and with hardware bundles at a starting price of $49 per month.Currently trading at just a $32 million market cap, Net Element is an exciting story among NASDAQ small caps. Earnings are due on March 29 and we're expecting the company to perform better than many are expecting. We think the worst is behind the company and judging by board member Rakishev Kenges' purchases of 7.1m shares at $.14 and 4.6m shares at $.20, all signs are pointing to a higher share price for NETE. We will be updating Insider Financial as soon as we know more. For continuing coverage on NETE, sign up for our free newsletter today and get our next hot stock pick!Disclosure: We have no position in NETE and have not been compensated for this article.