Head-To-Head Contrast: Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) versus NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES)

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) and Criteo (NASDAQ:CRTO) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for NetEase and Criteo, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NetEase	0	3	6	0	2.67
Criteo	1	3	5	0	2.44

NetEase presently has a consensus price target of $128.78, indicating a potential downside of 4.50%. Criteo has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 72.49%. Given Criteo’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Criteo is more favorable than NetEase.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.1% of NetEase shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.3% of Criteo shares are owned by institutional investors. 54.7% of NetEase shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Criteo shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NetEase and Criteo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NetEase	31.14%	23.56%	17.29%
Criteo	7.10%	16.91%	8.53%

Risk & Volatility

NetEase has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Criteo has a beta of 0.47, meaning that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NetEase	$14.43 billion	5.92	$4.07 billion	$7.39	18.25
Criteo	$1.93 billion	0.69	$111.57 million	$2.39	9.70

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

Summary

NetEase beats Criteo on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc. engages in online games, music streaming, online intelligent learning services, and internet content services businesses in China and internationally . The company operates through Games and Related Value-Added Services, Youdao, Cloud Music, and Innovative Businesses and Others segments. It develops and operates PC and mobile games, as well as offers games licensed from other game developers. The company's products and services include Youdao Dictionary, an online knowledge tool; Youdao Translation, a tool specifically designed to support translation needs of business and leisure travelers; U-Dictionary, an online dictionary and translation app; Youdao Kids' Dictionary, a smart and fun tool; smart devices, such as Youdao Dictionary Pen, Youdao Smart Learning Pad, Youdao Listening Pod, Youdao Smart Light, Youdao Pocket Translator, and Youdao Super Dictionary; online courses; interactive learning apps; and education digitalization solutions, such as Youdao Smart Learning Terminal, a device that automates paper-based homework processing; Youdao Smart Cloud, a cloud-based platform that allows third-party app developers, smart device brands, and manufacturers to the company's OCR capabilities; and Youdao Sports, a sports-centric educational system. Its products and services also include NetEase Cloud Music, a music streaming platform; Yanxuan, an e-commerce platform, which sells private label products; www.163.com portal and related mobile app, Wangyi Xinwen, which deliver information such as news, sports events, technology, fashion trends, and online entertainment; NetEase Mail, an email service; NetEase CC Live streaming, a live streaming platform with a focus on game broadcasting; and NetEase Pay, a payment platform. The company was formerly known as NetEase.com, Inc. and changed its name to NetEase, Inc. in March 2012. NetEase, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China.

About Criteo

Criteo S.A., a technology company, provides marketing and monetization services on the open Internet in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company's Criteo Shopper Graph, which derives clients' proprietary commerce data, such as transaction activity on their digital properties. It also offers Criteo AI Engine solutions, including lookalike finder, recommendation, and predictive bidding algorithms; recommendation algorithms, dynamic creative optimization+, sponsored product placement algorithms, and other product placement algorithms. The company's technology comprises data synchronization, storage, and analysis of distributed computing infrastructure in various geographies, as well as fast data collection and retrieval using multi-layered caching infrastructure; and experimentation platform, an offline/online testing platform to enhance the capabilities and effectiveness of prediction models. In addition, it provides Criteo Marketing Solutions that allow commerce companies to address various marketing goals by engaging their consumers with personalized ads across the web, mobile, and offline store environments; and Criteo Retail Media solutions, which allows retailers to generate advertising revenues from consumer brands, and/or to drive sales for themselves, by monetizing their data and audiences through personalized ads, either on their own digital property or on the open Internet. Further, the company offers real-time advertising technology and trading infrastructure, delivering advanced media buying, selling, and packaging capabilities for media owners, agencies, performance advertisers, and third-party AdTech platforms. It serves companies in digital retail, travel, and classifieds sectors. Criteo S.A. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Paris, France.