ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) versus Paltalk (NASDAQ:PALT) Head to Head Comparison

ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) and Paltalk (NASDAQ:PALT) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for ACV Auctions and Paltalk, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACV Auctions	0	1	10	0	2.91
Paltalk	0	0	0	0	0.00

ACV Auctions currently has a consensus price target of $18.36, indicating a potential upside of 93.61%. Given ACV Auctions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe ACV Auctions is more favorable than Paltalk.

Risk & Volatility

ACV Auctions has a beta of 1.64, suggesting that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paltalk has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.6% of ACV Auctions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.9% of Paltalk shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of ACV Auctions shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of Paltalk shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ACV Auctions and Paltalk’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACV Auctions	-12.51%	-12.94%	-5.75%
Paltalk	-33.40%	-16.94%	-14.15%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ACV Auctions and Paltalk”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACV Auctions	$707.24 million	2.31	-$79.70 million	($0.39)	-24.32
Paltalk	$9.64 million	1.94	-$1.07 million	($0.34)	-5.96

Paltalk has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ACV Auctions. ACV Auctions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Paltalk, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

ACV Auctions beats Paltalk on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACV Auctions

ACV Auctions Inc. operates a digital marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for the online auction of wholesale vehicles. The company’s marketplace platform includes digital marketplace, which connects buyers and sellers by providing online auction, which facilitates real-time transactions of wholesale vehicles; Run List for pre-filtering and pre-screening of vehicles up to 24 hours prior to an auction taking place; ACV transportation service to enable the buyers to see real-time transportation quotes and status reports of the vehicle; ACV capital, a short-term inventory financing services for buyers to purchase vehicles; and Go Green’s seller assurance service for against claims related to defects in the vehicle. It also provides remarketing centers, which offers value-added services, such as vehicle reconditioning and storage for dealers and commercial partners. In addition, the company offers data services, including True360 report, which provides cosmetic and structural vehicle assessments integrated into vehicle history reports for dealer to make wholesale and retail transaction decisions on and off the marketplace; ACV market report provides transaction data and condition reports for comparable used vehicles, including pricing data from third-party sources and allows dealers to determine pricing and valuation strategies for used vehicles; and ACV MAX inventory management software enables dealers to manage their inventory and set pricing while turning vehicles. Further, it provides data and technology through inspection, such as condition reports, virtual lift solutions, apex device, and vehicle intelligence platform; and marketplace enablement, comprising MyACV application, private marketplaces, operations automation, live appraisals, and programmatic buying service. ACV Auctions Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

About Paltalk

Paltalk, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops communications software and multimedia social applications worldwide. It offers consumer applications, which include Paltalk, Camfrog, and Tinychat for live video chat; and owns and operates Vumber, a telecommunications services provider that enables users to have multiple phone numbers in any area code through which calls can be forwarded to a user’s existing cell phone or land line telephone number. The company provides ManyCam, a live streaming software and virtual camera that allows users to deliver professional live videos on streaming platforms, video conferencing applications, and distance learning tools; and product payment options, where users can pay by credit card, PayPal, western union, check, local e-wallet providers, or complete an in-app purchase through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for Android users. The company was formerly known as PeerStream, Inc. and changed its name to Paltalk, Inc. in May 2020. Paltalk, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Jericho, New York.