MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX – Get Free Report) and WEBTOON Entertainment (NASDAQ:WBTN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.
Volatility & Risk
MediaAlpha has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WEBTOON Entertainment has a beta of 2.62, indicating that its stock price is 162% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares MediaAlpha and WEBTOON Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| MediaAlpha | 7.94% | -301.42% | 28.23% |
| WEBTOON Entertainment | -25.09% | 2.10% | 1.60% |
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| MediaAlpha | $1.11 billion | 0.64 | $25.62 million | $1.62 | 7.19 |
| WEBTOON Entertainment | $1.38 billion | 1.06 | -$345.93 million | ($2.63) | -4.10 |
MediaAlpha has higher earnings, but lower revenue than WEBTOON Entertainment. WEBTOON Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MediaAlpha, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
64.4% of MediaAlpha shares are held by institutional investors. 14.6% of MediaAlpha shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of WEBTOON Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for MediaAlpha and WEBTOON Entertainment, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| MediaAlpha | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2.56 |
| WEBTOON Entertainment | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.12 |
MediaAlpha currently has a consensus price target of $14.29, suggesting a potential upside of 22.62%. WEBTOON Entertainment has a consensus price target of $13.70, suggesting a potential upside of 27.09%. Given WEBTOON Entertainment’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe WEBTOON Entertainment is more favorable than MediaAlpha.
Summary
MediaAlpha beats WEBTOON Entertainment on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About MediaAlpha
MediaAlpha, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates an insurance customer acquisition platform in the United States. It optimizes customer acquisition in various verticals of property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and life insurance. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
About WEBTOON Entertainment
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. operates a storytelling platform worldwide. The company’s platform allows a community of creators and users to discover, create, and share new content. Its platform offers stories primarily in two ways, including web-comics, a graphical comic-like medium; and web-novels, which are text-based stories. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. is a subsidiary of NAVER Corporation.
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