Analyzing JOYY (NASDAQ:YY) and 36Kr (NASDAQ:KRKR)

JOYY (NASDAQ:YY) and 36Kr (NASDAQ:KRKR) are both communication services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for JOYY and 36Kr, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JOYY	0	0	2	0	3.00
36Kr	1	0	0	0	1.00

JOYY presently has a consensus price target of $66.00, indicating a potential downside of 18.37%. Given JOYY’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe JOYY is more favorable than 36Kr.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

36.8% of JOYY shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of 36Kr shares are owned by institutional investors. 43.0% of JOYY shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 39.4% of 36Kr shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

JOYY has a beta of 0.21, meaning that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 36Kr has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares JOYY and 36Kr’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JOYY	9.02%	4.64%	2.96%
36Kr	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares JOYY and 36Kr”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JOYY	$2.24 billion	1.94	$301.82 million	($3.10)	-26.08
36Kr	$259.35 million	0.02	$1.55 million	($2.40)	-1.26

JOYY has higher revenue and earnings than 36Kr. JOYY is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 36Kr, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

JOYY beats 36Kr on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JOYY

JOYY Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates social media platforms that offer users engaging and experience across various video-based social platforms. It operates through two segments, BIGO and All Other. The company operates Bigo Live, a social live streaming platform, that provides an interactive online stage for users to host and watch live streaming sessions, share their life moments, showcase their talents, and interact with people worldwide; Likee, a short-form video social platform, which enables users to discover, create, and share short videos, with video creation tools and personalized feeds; imo, an instant messenger platform, that provides audio and video communication services; Hago, a social networking platform that offers casual games integrating social features, such as audio and video multi-user chatrooms and 3D virtual interactive party games; and Shopline, a smart commerce platform, that provides solutions and services to enable merchants in creating and growing their brands online and reach customers through various sales channels, including e-commerce platforms, social commerce, and physical retail stores. It operates in the People's Republic of China, the United States, the Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and internationally. The company was formerly known as YY Inc. and changed its name to JOYY Inc. in December 2019. JOYY Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About 36Kr

36Kr Holdings Inc. provides content and business services in the People's Republic of China. It creates and distributes various content, including insightful reports on companies and industries, timely market updates, thought-provoking editorials, and commentaries, as well as original video and audio content in various industries, such as technology, consumer, retail, healthcare, media and entertainment, and enterprise services. The company's business services include online advertising services; enterprise value-added services, such as integrated marketing, advertisement agent, online/offline event, and consulting services; and subscription services to individuals, institutional investors, and enterprises. 36Kr Holdings Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.