PubMatic (NASDAQ:PUBM – Get Free Report) and Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYK – Get Free Report) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.
Risk and Volatility
PubMatic has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Liberty Global has a beta of 1, meaning that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares PubMatic and Liberty Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| PubMatic | -4.66% | -5.41% | -1.99% |
| Liberty Global | -44.40% | -25.59% | -11.30% |
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| PubMatic | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 2.79 |
| Liberty Global | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
PubMatic presently has a consensus target price of $21.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.89%. Given PubMatic’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe PubMatic is more favorable than Liberty Global.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
64.3% of PubMatic shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.1% of Liberty Global shares are held by institutional investors. 27.8% of PubMatic shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.9% of Liberty Global shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares PubMatic and Liberty Global”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| PubMatic | $282.93 million | 2.73 | -$14.46 million | ($0.30) | -56.50 |
| Liberty Global | $4.88 billion | 0.70 | -$7.14 billion | ($7.39) | -1.35 |
PubMatic has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Liberty Global. PubMatic is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Liberty Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
PubMatic beats Liberty Global on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About PubMatic
PubMatic is a digital advertising technology company that operates a sell-side platform for publishers and app developers. Its cloud-based platform helps clients manage and monetize advertising inventory by connecting it with demand from advertisers and media buyers through programmatic advertising. The company’s services support advertising across web, mobile app, video and connected TV environments. Its tools include real-time bidding, inventory management, audience and data solutions, and analytics designed to help publishers optimize advertising revenue and give buyers access to digital audiences.
About Liberty Global
Liberty Global is an international telecommunications company focused on broadband, video and mobile services. It provides connectivity and entertainment to residential and business customers through operating companies and joint ventures, including Virgin Media O2 in the United Kingdom, VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, Telenet in Belgium and Sunrise in Switzerland. The company traces its roots to the 2005 merger of UnitedGlobalCom and Liberty Media International. In addition to its telecommunications businesses, Liberty Global invests in communications infrastructure and technology companies.
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