Reviewing The9 (NCTY) and Its Rivals

The9 (NASDAQ:NCTY) is one of 956 publicly-traded companies in the “Software” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare The9 to related businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for The9 and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The9	1	0	0	0	1.00
The9 Competitors	5560	21192	44231	1464	2.57

As a group, “Software” companies have a potential upside of 332.99%. Given The9’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe The9 has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Volatility & Risk

The9 has a beta of 2.09, suggesting that its stock price is 109% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The9’s rivals have a beta of 1.19, suggesting that their average stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.5% of The9 shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.1% of shares of all “Software” companies are held by institutional investors. 30.8% of The9 shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.9% of shares of all “Software” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares The9 and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The9	N/A	N/A	N/A
The9 Competitors	-628.99%	24.78%	-9.06%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares The9 and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
The9	$15.43 million	-$57.55 million	0.61
The9 Competitors	$1.83 billion	$389.29 million	105.76

The9’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than The9. The9 is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

The9 rivals beat The9 on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

The9 Company Profile

The9 Limited operates as a cryptocurrency mining business in China, Eastern Europe, Asia, and North America. The company was formerly known as GameNow.net Limited and changed its name to The9 Limited in February 2004. The9 Limited was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China.