Comparing ARTISTdirect (OTCMKTS:ARTD) and TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP)

TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:TRIP) and ARTISTdirect (OTCMKTS:ARTD) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for TripAdvisor and ARTISTdirect, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TripAdvisor	5	8	2	1	1.94
ARTISTdirect	0	0	0	0	0.00

TripAdvisor presently has a consensus target price of $15.21, indicating a potential upside of 58.29%. Given TripAdvisor’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe TripAdvisor is more favorable than ARTISTdirect.

Profitability

This table compares TripAdvisor and ARTISTdirect’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TripAdvisor	2.12%	10.67%	2.52%
ARTISTdirect	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares TripAdvisor and ARTISTdirect”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TripAdvisor	$1.89 billion	0.59	$5.00 million	$0.30	32.03
ARTISTdirect	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

TripAdvisor has higher revenue and earnings than ARTISTdirect.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.0% of TripAdvisor shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of TripAdvisor shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

TripAdvisor beats ARTISTdirect on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor, Inc. operates as an online travel company, primarily engages in the provision of travel guidance products and services worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Brand Tripadvisor, Viator, and TheFork. The Brand Tripadvisor segment offers travel guidance platforms for travelers to discover, generate, and share authentic user-generated content in the form of ratings and reviews for destinations, points-of-interest, experiences, accommodations, restaurants, and cruises. The Viator's segment provides pure-play experiences online travel agency that comprehensive and connecting travelers to discover and book tours, activities, and attractions from experience operators. TheFork segment provides an online marketplace that enables diners to discover and book online reservations at restaurants. TripAdvisor, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts. Tripadvisor, Inc. is a subsidiary of Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc.

About ARTISTdirect

ARTISTdirect, Inc. operates an online platform that provides music and recorded labels. It offers multi-media content, music news and information, online fan communities, music related commerce, and digital music services. The company also provides iMusic record labels of rock and urban music. ARTISTdirect, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Santa Monica, California.