Contrasting Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) and Pulse Network (OTCMKTS:TPNI)

Pulse Network (OTCMKTS:TPNI) and Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Pulse Network and Acacia Research’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pulse Network	N/A	N/A	N/A
Acacia Research	1.70%	2.45%	1.80%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Pulse Network and Acacia Research”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pulse Network	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Acacia Research	$122.31 million	3.20	-$36.06 million	$0.05	81.20

Pulse Network has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Acacia Research.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Pulse Network and Acacia Research, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pulse Network	0	0	0	0	0.00
Acacia Research	1	0	0	0	1.00

Given Pulse Network’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Pulse Network is more favorable than Acacia Research.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.7% of Acacia Research shares are held by institutional investors. 90.9% of Pulse Network shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Acacia Research shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Pulse Network has a beta of 2.39, meaning that its share price is 139% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acacia Research has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Acacia Research beats Pulse Network on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pulse Network

The Pulse Network, Inc. provides a cloud-based platform that focuses on content marketing and event solutions in the United States. It operates a cloud-based content marketing platform, which enables corporate marketers and event groups in their campaign efforts. The company’s platform includes Content Marketing Platform that provides newsletters for outreach and engagement; Digital Publication Platform Creator, which develops digital publications; Video Webcast Production Platform that engages the audience with live video production, and enhances participation with live polls and chats; and Event Management Platform, which creates interactive customer experiences through registration and online engagement. Its platform also enhances registration counts through engagement and social sharing, and verification counts through connecting with the audience. In addition, the company offers ICTG platform, a marketing and follow up automation software; event management solution, an end-to-end tool for event groups worldwide; and HostMyLeads.com for lead management, as well as event technology, registration, lead generation, Web, and lead management program services for businesses, event organizers, and associations to engage with their community across channels, such as online, mobile, or face to face. Further, it provides Event Database Solutions comprising a multi-channel software-as-a-service platform for marketing support, registration, housing, management reporting, lead retrieval, online production, event Websites, and continuing education unit tracking, as well as services for marketing and event management. Additionally, the company offers content marketing tools that include syndication and distribution, social sharing, newsletter creation, analytics and reporting, prospect management, and other tools, as well as a content curation tool, which support the cloud-based platform. The Pulse Network, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in Norwood, Massachusetts.

About Acacia Research

Acacia is a publicly traded (Nasdaq: ACTG) company that is focused on acquiring and operating businesses across the industrial, energy and technology sectors where it believes it can leverage its expertise, significant capital base, and deep industry relationships to drive value. Acacia evaluates opportunities based on the attractiveness of the underlying cash flows, without regard to a specific investment horizon. Acacia operates its businesses based on three key principles of people, process, and performance and has built a management team with demonstrated expertise in research, transactions and execution, and operations and management.