Critical Comparison: TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT) vs. WPP (NYSE:WPP)

WPP (NYSE:WPP) and TechTarget (NASDAQ:TTGT) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

WPP has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TechTarget has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares WPP and TechTarget’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WPP	N/A	N/A	N/A
TechTarget	-232.59%	-16.76%	-11.15%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

4.3% of WPP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.5% of TechTarget shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of WPP shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of TechTarget shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WPP and TechTarget”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WPP	$18.84 billion	0.26	$692.62 million	N/A	N/A
TechTarget	$284.90 million	1.31	-$116.86 million	($1.73)	-2.99

WPP has higher revenue and earnings than TechTarget.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for WPP and TechTarget, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WPP	2	3	1	0	1.83
TechTarget	2	1	3	0	2.17

TechTarget has a consensus target price of $11.25, suggesting a potential upside of 117.60%. Given TechTarget’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe TechTarget is more favorable than WPP.

About WPP

WPP plc, a creative transformation company, provides communications, experience, commerce, and technology services in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Continental Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. The company operates through three segments: Global Integrated Agencies, Public Relations, and Specialist Agencies. It offers marketing strategy, creative ideation, production, commerce, influencer marketing, social media management, and technology implementation services; media strategy, planning, buying and activation, commerce media, data analytics, and consulting services; and media management, public affairs, reputation, risk and crisis management, social media management, and strategic advisory services. The company also provides brand consulting, brand identity, product and service design, and corporate and brand publication services. WPP plc was founded in 1985 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

About TechTarget

TechTarget, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides marketing and sales services that deliver business impact for business-to-business technology companies in North America and internationally. The company's service enables technology vendors to identify, reach, and influence corporate information technology (IT) decision-makers actively researching specific IT purchases; and customized marketing programs that integrate demand generation, brand advertising techniques, and content curation and creation. It offers business to business services, such as IT Deal Alert, a suite of data, software, and services comprising Priority Engine and Qualified Sales Opportunities to identify and prioritize accounts and individuals actively researching new technology purchases or upgrades; demand solutions provides marketing programs, including white papers, webcasts, podcasts, videocasts, virtual trade shows, and content sponsorships; brand solutions which includes on-network banner advertising and digital sponsorships, off-network banner targeting, and microsites and related formats; custom content creation that delivers market insights and guidance to technology companies and off-the-shelf editorial sponsorship products on topics aligned to customer markets; and BrightTALK platform which allows customers to create, host and promote webinars, virtual events, and video content. In addition, the company operates websites, webinars, and virtual event channels that focus on a specific IT sector, such as storage, security, or networking; and enables registered members to conduct their pre-purchase research by accessing vendor supplied content through its virtual event and webinar channels, and website networks. TechTarget, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts.