Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD – Get Free Report) and Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
67.8% of Trade Desk shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.8% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 11.4% of Trade Desk shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Trade Desk and Advantage Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Trade Desk | 7 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1.95 |
| Advantage Solutions | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Volatility & Risk
Trade Desk has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advantage Solutions has a beta of 2.18, indicating that its stock price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Trade Desk and Advantage Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Trade Desk | 14.57% | 16.91% | 7.28% |
| Advantage Solutions | -7.65% | -44.44% | -9.26% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Trade Desk and Advantage Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Trade Desk | $2.90 billion | 2.24 | $443.30 million | $0.88 | 15.68 |
| Advantage Solutions | $3.54 billion | 0.11 | -$227.74 million | ($18.74) | -1.50 |
Trade Desk has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Advantage Solutions. Advantage Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trade Desk, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Trade Desk beats Advantage Solutions on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Trade Desk
The Trade Desk, Inc. operates as a technology company in the United States and internationally. The company offers a self-service cloud-based platform that allows buyers to plan, manage, optimize, and measure data-driven digital advertising campaigns across various ad formats and channels, including video, display, audio, digital-out-of-home, native, and social on various devices, such as computers, mobile devices, televisions, and streaming devices. It provides data and other value-added services. The company serves advertising agencies, brands, and other service providers for advertisers. The Trade Desk, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Ventura, California.
About Advantage Solutions
Advantage Solutions Inc. provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services. This segment also provides retailer-centric services comprising retailer-centric merchandising and in-store media services. The Marketing segment offers brand-centric services, including shopper and consumer marketing, and brand experiential services; retailer-centric services, such as retail experiential and private label services; and digital marketing, and digital media and advertising services. The company was formerly known as Karman Holding Corp. and changed its name to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.
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