Contrasting System1 (NYSE:SST) and AdStar (OTCMKTS:ADST)

System1 (NYSE:SST) and AdStar (OTCMKTS:ADST) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares System1 and AdStar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
System1	-22.43%	-92.07%	-15.92%
AdStar	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares System1 and AdStar”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
System1	$317.06 million	0.23	-$74.67 million	($9.63)	-0.76
AdStar	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

AdStar has lower revenue, but higher earnings than System1.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for System1 and AdStar, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
System1	0	0	1	0	3.00
AdStar	0	0	0	0	0.00

System1 presently has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 37.29%. Given System1’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe System1 is more favorable than AdStar.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.5% of System1 shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.2% of System1 shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.6% of AdStar shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

System1 beats AdStar on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About System1

System1, Inc. provides omnichannel customer acquisition platform services through its proprietary responsive acquisition marketing platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Owned and Operated Advertising, and Partner Network. The company engages in the provision of acquiring traffic to its owned and operated websites, as well as revenue-sharing arrangements and related services. It also operates MapQuest, a web-based navigation service that delivers turn-by-turn direction services to users; Info.com, a metasearch engine that consumers can use to search for relevant information; HowStuffWorks, a commercial website focused on helping people solve problems in their daily lives by using various types of digital media to easily breakdown and explain complex concepts, topics, terminology and mechanisms; Startpage, a private search engine that allows users to browse and search the Internet in complete privacy; and CouponFollow for coupon destinations for online shoppers, as well as ActiveBeat and Infospace. In addition, the company provides antivirus software solutions, which offers customers a single packaged solution that provides protection and reporting to the end users. The company is based in Los Angeles, California.

About AdStar

AdStar, Inc. engages in the provision of advertising technology services to publishers. It focuses on its application service provider. The company was founded by Leslie Bernhard and Eli Rousso in 1986 and is headquartered in Marina del Rey, CA.