Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ – Get Free Report) and Skillz (NYSE:FIRY – Get Free Report) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Starz Entertainment and Skillz, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Starz Entertainment | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2.56 |
| Skillz | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Starz Entertainment currently has a consensus target price of $32.71, suggesting a potential upside of 32.18%. Given Starz Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Starz Entertainment is more favorable than Skillz.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Starz Entertainment | $963.40 million | 0.44 | -$115.80 million | ($25.49) | -0.97 |
| Skillz | $104.50 million | 1.63 | -$70.41 million | ($4.42) | -2.33 |
Skillz has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Starz Entertainment. Skillz is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Starz Entertainment, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Starz Entertainment has a beta of 2.44, indicating that its stock price is 144% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Skillz has a beta of 4.59, indicating that its stock price is 359% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
19.4% of Skillz shares are held by institutional investors. 22.6% of Starz Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 59.4% of Skillz shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Starz Entertainment and Skillz’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Starz Entertainment | -33.98% | -25.64% | -6.79% |
| Skillz | -60.23% | -66.50% | -24.36% |
Summary
Starz Entertainment beats Skillz on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Starz Entertainment
Starz is a premium cable and streaming network owned by Starz Entertainment, which was formerly a part of Lionsgate. Starz had about 20 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of Dec. 31, 2024. The company’s franchises include “Outlander” and “Power.”
About Skillz
Skillz Inc. operates a mobile games platform that connects players in fair, fun, and meaningful competition. The company primarily develops and supports a proprietary online-hosted technology platform that enables independent game developers to host tournaments and provide competitive gaming activity to end-users worldwide. It also hosts casual esports tournaments to a range of mobile players. The company distributes games through direct app download from its website, as well as through third-party platforms. Skillz Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
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