Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) versus MOGU (NYSE:MOGU) Critical Review

Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) and MOGU (NYSE:MOGU) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Advantage Solutions and MOGU”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advantage Solutions	$3.57 billion	0.13	-$63.26 million	($1.01)	-1.48
MOGU	$138.90 million	0.14	-$8.21 million	N/A	N/A

MOGU has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Advantage Solutions.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.8% of Advantage Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.1% of MOGU shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.2% of Advantage Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of MOGU shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Advantage Solutions and MOGU, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advantage Solutions	0	0	1	0	3.00
MOGU	0	0	0	0	0.00

Advantage Solutions currently has a consensus price target of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 134.90%. Given Advantage Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Advantage Solutions is more favorable than MOGU.

Risk & Volatility

Advantage Solutions has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MOGU has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Advantage Solutions and MOGU’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advantage Solutions	-3.32%	-7.58%	-2.17%
MOGU	N/A	N/A	N/A

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc. provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services. This segment also provides retailer-centric services comprising retailer-centric merchandising and in-store media services. The Marketing segment offers brand-centric services, including shopper and consumer marketing, and brand experiential services; retailer-centric services, such as retail experiential and private label services; and digital marketing, and digital media and advertising services. The company was formerly known as Karman Holding Corp. and changed its name to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About MOGU

MOGU Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the online fashion and lifestyle business in the People's Republic of China. The company operates an online platform that primarily offers a range of fashion apparel and other products, including beauty products and accessories provided by third party merchants, as well as personal care, food, and medical beauty products. It also provides online marketing, commission, financing, technology, and other related services to merchants, brand partners/owners, and users; and technology services to insurance companies. The company offers its products through mobile apps, including flagship Mogujie app, mini programs on Weixin, and Weixin pay; websites comprising Mogu.com, Mogujie.com and Meilishuo.com. The company was formerly known as Meili Inc. and changed its name to MOGU Inc. in November 2018. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China.