Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK – Get Free Report) and First Advantage (NYSE:FA – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Upwork and First Advantage”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Upwork | $787.78 million | 1.36 | $115.43 million | $0.77 | 11.10 |
| First Advantage | $1.66 billion | 2.23 | $37.29 million | $0.14 | 154.00 |
Profitability
This table compares Upwork and First Advantage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Upwork | 12.94% | 16.70% | 7.94% |
| First Advantage | 0.65% | 13.16% | 7.33% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Upwork and First Advantage, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Upwork | 1 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2.15 |
| First Advantage | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2.83 |
Upwork presently has a consensus target price of $13.05, indicating a potential upside of 52.63%. First Advantage has a consensus target price of $23.33, indicating a potential upside of 8.23%. Given Upwork’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Upwork is more favorable than First Advantage.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
77.7% of Upwork shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of First Advantage shares are held by institutional investors. 4.9% of Upwork shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of First Advantage shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk & Volatility
Upwork has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Advantage has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.
About Upwork
Upwork Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company’s work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development. Its work marketplace also enables clients to streamline workflows, such as talent sourcing, outreach, and contracting. The company’s work marketplace offers access to various functionalities for remote engagements with talent, including communication and collaboration, ability to receive talent invoices through their work marketplace, and payment protection. Its marketplace offerings include Upwork Payroll and Upwork Enterprise, as well as managed and escrow services. The company was formerly known as Elance-oDesk, Inc. and changed its name to Upwork Inc. in May 2015. Upwork Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
About First Advantage
First Advantage Corporation provides employment background screening, identity, and verification solutions worldwide. It offers pre-onboarding products and solutions, such as criminal background checks, drug/health screening, extended workforce screening, FBI channeling, identity checks and biometric fraud mitigation tools, education/work history verification, driver records and compliance, healthcare credentials, executive screening, and other screening products. The company also provides post-onboarding solutions, including criminal records monitoring, healthcare sanctions, motor vehicle records, social media screening, and global sanctions and licenses; and other products comprising fleet/vehicle compliance, hiring tax credits and incentives, resident/tenant screening, and investigative research. Its products and solutions are used by personnel in recruiting, human resources, risk, compliance, vendor management, safety, and/or security in global enterprises, mid-sized, and small companies. The company was formerly known as Fastball Intermediate, Inc. and changed its name to First Advantage Corporation in March 2021. First Advantage Corporation was founded in 2002 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
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