NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS – Get Free Report) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for NerdWallet and Meta Platforms, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| NerdWallet | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.38 |
| Meta Platforms | 0 | 7 | 47 | 3 | 2.93 |
NerdWallet presently has a consensus target price of $12.83, suggesting a potential upside of 14.79%. Meta Platforms has a consensus target price of $833.12, suggesting a potential upside of 35.47%. Given Meta Platforms’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Meta Platforms is more favorable than NerdWallet.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares NerdWallet and Meta Platforms”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| NerdWallet | $836.60 million | 0.85 | $48.70 million | $0.89 | 12.56 |
| Meta Platforms | $200.97 billion | 7.82 | $60.46 billion | $29.33 | 20.97 |
Meta Platforms has higher revenue and earnings than NerdWallet. NerdWallet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Meta Platforms, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
38.8% of NerdWallet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Meta Platforms shares are owned by institutional investors. 52.7% of NerdWallet shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of Meta Platforms shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares NerdWallet and Meta Platforms’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| NerdWallet | 7.56% | 18.07% | 14.41% |
| Meta Platforms | 31.15% | 30.73% | 18.08% |
Risk & Volatility
NerdWallet has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Meta Platforms has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Meta Platforms beats NerdWallet on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About NerdWallet
NerdWallet, Inc. operates a digital platform that provides consumer-driven advice about personal finance by connecting individuals and small and mid-sized businesses with financial products providers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Its platform offers guidance to consumers through educational content, tools and calculators, and product marketplaces, as well as through NerdWallet app for various financial products, including credit cards, mortgages, insurance, SMB products, personal loans, banking, investing, and student loans. The company was founded in 2009 and is based in San Francisco, California.
About Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc. engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately. The Reality Labs segment provides augmented and virtual reality related products comprising consumer hardware, software, and content that help people feel connected, anytime, and anywhere. The company was formerly known as Facebook, Inc. and changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc. in October 2021. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California
Receive News & Ratings for NerdWallet Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for NerdWallet and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
