MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) & Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) Financial Contrast
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyShutterstock (NYSE:SSTK – Get Free Report) and MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
82.8% of Shutterstock shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of MediaAlpha shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.3% of Shutterstock shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.6% of MediaAlpha shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Shutterstock and MediaAlpha, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Shutterstock | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| MediaAlpha | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2.78 |
Shutterstock presently has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 77.35%. MediaAlpha has a consensus target price of $14.29, indicating a potential upside of 50.46%. Given Shutterstock’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Shutterstock is more favorable than MediaAlpha.
Volatility and Risk
Shutterstock has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MediaAlpha has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Shutterstock and MediaAlpha’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Shutterstock | -22.87% | 13.61% | 5.49% |
| MediaAlpha | 7.94% | -301.42% | 28.23% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Shutterstock and MediaAlpha”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Shutterstock | $989.92 million | 0.15 | $45.50 million | ($5.65) | -0.70 |
| MediaAlpha | $1.11 billion | 0.52 | $25.62 million | $1.62 | 5.86 |
Shutterstock has higher earnings, but lower revenue than MediaAlpha. Shutterstock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MediaAlpha, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
MediaAlpha beats Shutterstock on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Shutterstock
Shutterstock, Inc. provides platform to connect brands and businesses to high quality content in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers image services consisting of photographs, vectors, and illustrations, which is used in visual communications, such as websites, digital and print marketing materials, corporate communications, books, publications, and others; footage services, including video clips, filmed by industry experts and cinema grade video effects in HD and 4K formats that are integrated into websites, social media, marketing campaigns, and cinematic productions; and music services comprising music tracks and sound effects, which are used to complement images and footage. It also provides 3 dimensional models consisting of 3D models used in various industries, such as advertising, media and video production, gaming, retail, education, design, and architecture; and generative AI content comprising images generated from algorithms trained with ethically sourced content. The company offers its services under the Shutterstock, Pond5, TurboSquid, PicMonkey, PremiumBeat, Splash News, Bigstock, and Offset brand names. In addition, it operates a collection of graphics interchange format visuals and stickers that supplies casual conversational content. The company serves corporate professionals and organizations, media and broadcast companies, and small and medium-sized businesses, and individual creators through digital, live sales, and client management channels. Shutterstock, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
About MediaAlpha
MediaAlpha, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates an insurance customer acquisition platform in the United States. It optimizes customer acquisition in various verticals of property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and life insurance. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.