Vivid Seats (NASDAQ:SEAT) vs. EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) Critical Review

EverQuote (NASDAQ:EVER) and Vivid Seats (NASDAQ:SEAT) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.5% of EverQuote shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.9% of Vivid Seats shares are held by institutional investors. 23.7% of EverQuote shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 60.5% of Vivid Seats shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares EverQuote and Vivid Seats’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EverQuote	15.16%	50.29%	36.69%
Vivid Seats	-60.26%	-211.26%	0.91%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares EverQuote and Vivid Seats”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EverQuote	$692.52 million	1.04	$99.31 million	$3.08	6.48
Vivid Seats	$570.78 million	0.07	-$429.30 million	($45.51)	-0.07

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

Risk and Volatility

EverQuote has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vivid Seats has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for EverQuote and Vivid Seats, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EverQuote	0	2	6	0	2.75
Vivid Seats	2	6	2	0	2.00

EverQuote presently has a consensus price target of $28.17, indicating a potential upside of 41.04%. Vivid Seats has a consensus price target of $10.27, indicating a potential upside of 206.01%. Given Vivid Seats’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vivid Seats is more favorable than EverQuote.

Summary

EverQuote beats Vivid Seats on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EverQuote

EverQuote, Inc. operates an online marketplace for insurance shopping in the United States. The company offers auto, home and renters, and life insurance. The company serves carriers and agents, as well as indirect distributors. The company was formerly known as AdHarmonics, Inc., and changed its name to EverQuote, Inc. in November 2014. EverQuote, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About Vivid Seats

Vivid Seats Inc. operates an online ticket marketplace in the United States, Canada, and Japan. The company operates in two segments, Marketplace and Resale. The Marketplace segment acts as an intermediary between event ticket buyers and sellers; processes ticket sales on its website and mobile applications through its distribution partners; and sells tickets for sports, concerts, theater events, and other live events. This segment offers Skybox, a proprietary enterprise resource planning tool that helps ticket sellers manage ticket inventories, adjust pricing, and fulfill orders across multiple ticket resale marketplaces; and Vivid Picks daily fantasy sports that allows users to partake in contests by making picks from various sport and player matchups. The Resale segment acquires tickets to resell on secondary ticket marketplaces; and provides internal research and development support for Skybox and to deliver seller software and tools. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.