Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) & Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) Critical Analysis

Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) and Fluent (NASDAQ:FLNT) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Cardlytics and Fluent’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cardlytics	-55.92%	-956.56%	-38.39%
Fluent	-11.48%	-155.09%	-30.36%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Cardlytics and Fluent, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cardlytics	2	1	0	0	1.33
Fluent	0	1	1	0	2.50

Cardlytics presently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 132.56%. Fluent has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.07%. Given Cardlytics’ higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cardlytics is more favorable than Fluent.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

68.1% of Cardlytics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.3% of Fluent shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Cardlytics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 38.4% of Fluent shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Cardlytics has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fluent has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cardlytics and Fluent”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cardlytics	$233.27 million	0.11	-$103.49 million	($18.48)	-0.23
Fluent	$208.76 million	0.63	-$27.17 million	($0.77)	-5.36

Fluent has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cardlytics. Fluent is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cardlytics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Fluent beats Cardlytics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cardlytics

Cardlytics, Inc. operates an advertising platform in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers Cardlytics platform, a proprietary native bank advertising channel that enables marketers to reach customers through their network of financial institution partners through digital channels, such as online, mobile applications, email, and various real-time notifications; and Bridg platform, a customer data platform which utilizes point-of-sale data and enables marketers to perform analytics and targeted loyalty marketing, as well as measure the impact of their marketing. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Fluent

Fluent, Inc. provides data-driven digital marketing services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Fluent and All Other segments. It offers customer acquisition services by operating digital marketing campaigns, through which the company connects its advertiser clients with consumers. The company also delivers data and performance-based marketing executions to various consumer brands, direct marketers, and agencies across a range of industries, including financial products and services, media and entertainment, health and life sciences, retail and consumer, and staffing and recruitment. Fluent, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in New York, New York.