Reviewing BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD) and MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX)

MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) and BuzzFeed (NASDAQ:BZFD) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MediaAlpha and BuzzFeed”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MediaAlpha	$1.11 billion	0.66	$25.62 million	$1.62	7.42
BuzzFeed	$170.71 million	0.53	-$57.72 million	($1.54)	-0.71

MediaAlpha has higher revenue and earnings than BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MediaAlpha, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

64.4% of MediaAlpha shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.6% of BuzzFeed shares are held by institutional investors. 14.6% of MediaAlpha shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.6% of BuzzFeed shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

MediaAlpha has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BuzzFeed has a beta of 3.78, meaning that its share price is 278% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for MediaAlpha and BuzzFeed, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MediaAlpha	0	5	3	1	2.56
BuzzFeed	1	1	0	0	1.50

MediaAlpha currently has a consensus target price of $14.29, indicating a potential upside of 18.85%. BuzzFeed has a consensus target price of $1.00, indicating a potential downside of 8.26%. Given MediaAlpha’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe MediaAlpha is more favorable than BuzzFeed.

Profitability

This table compares MediaAlpha and BuzzFeed’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%
BuzzFeed	-35.83%	-113.86%	-34.00%

Summary

MediaAlpha beats BuzzFeed on 12 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 BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed, Inc., a digital media company, distributes content across owned and operated, as well as third-party platforms. The company offers BuzzFeed, a go-to authority for entertainment, pop culture, and Internet with articles, lists, quizzes, videos, and original series; BuzzFeed News, a pocket friendly newsroom; Tasty, a platform for food content; HuffPost, media platform for news, politics, opinion, entertainment, features, and lifestyle content. It also provides display, programmatic, and video advertising on its owned and operated sites and applications. BuzzFeed, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York.