Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) and PLAYSTUDIOS (NASDAQ:MYPS) Critical Analysis

PLAYSTUDIOS (NASDAQ:MYPS) and Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for PLAYSTUDIOS and Light & Wonder, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PLAYSTUDIOS	2	1	2	0	2.00
Light & Wonder	1	4	5	0	2.40

PLAYSTUDIOS currently has a consensus target price of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 210.22%. Light & Wonder has a consensus target price of $105.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.21%. Given PLAYSTUDIOS’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe PLAYSTUDIOS is more favorable than Light & Wonder.

Profitability

This table compares PLAYSTUDIOS and Light & Wonder’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PLAYSTUDIOS	-15.10%	-8.71%	-6.77%
Light & Wonder	10.89%	71.17%	8.73%

Risk and Volatility

PLAYSTUDIOS has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Light & Wonder has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

37.5% of PLAYSTUDIOS shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Light & Wonder shares are held by institutional investors. 14.7% of PLAYSTUDIOS shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Light & Wonder shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PLAYSTUDIOS and Light & Wonder”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PLAYSTUDIOS	$289.43 million	0.28	-$28.69 million	($0.29)	-2.22
Light & Wonder	$3.22 billion	2.31	$336.00 million	$4.59	19.86

Light & Wonder has higher revenue and earnings than PLAYSTUDIOS. PLAYSTUDIOS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Light & Wonder, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Light & Wonder beats PLAYSTUDIOS on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PLAYSTUDIOS

PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. develops and publishes free-to-play casual games for mobile and social platforms in the United States and internationally. The company's game portfolio includes a diverse range of titles comprising social casino, card, puzzle, and adventure games. It also offers POP! Slots, myVEGAS Slots, my KONAMI Slots, MGM Slots Live, myVEGAS Blackjack, myVEGAS Bingo, Tetris, Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Jumbline 2, Sudoku, and Mahjong games. PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Light & Wonder

Light & Wonder, Inc. is a cross-platform global games company, which engages in the development of content and digital markets. It operates through the following segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming. The Gaming segment includes the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of portfolio of gaming products and services. The SciPlay segment involves the development and publishing of digital games on mobile and web platforms. The iGaming segment focuses on the provision of digital gaming content, distribution platforms, player account management systems, and services. The company was founded on July 2, 1984 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV.