Critical Analysis: Mail Ru Group (OTCMKTS:MLRYY) versus Autohome (NYSE:ATHM)

Mail Ru Group (OTCMKTS:MLRYY) and Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mail Ru Group and Autohome”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mail Ru Group	$1.59 billion	N/A	-$1.03 billion	($0.98)	-0.92
Autohome	$922.63 million	2.27	$225.19 million	$1.64	10.93

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

63.1% of Autohome shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Autohome shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Mail Ru Group has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autohome has a beta of 0.2, suggesting that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Mail Ru Group and Autohome, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mail Ru Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Autohome	1	3	0	0	1.75

Autohome has a consensus price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 56.16%. Given Autohome’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Autohome is more favorable than Mail Ru Group.

Profitability

This table compares Mail Ru Group and Autohome’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mail Ru Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Autohome	21.43%	5.94%	4.75%

Summary

Autohome beats Mail Ru Group on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mail Ru Group

VK International Public Joint-Stock Company operates as a technology company in Russia and internationally. It operates through Social Platforms and Media Content, EdTech, Technologies for Business, and Ecosystem Services and Other Business Lines segments. The company’s projects include social networks, games, education, goods and services, productivity, devices, media and entertainment, app stores, messengers, social services, and ecosystem services. It also provides marketing and advertising, communications and productivity, cloud data, analytics, authorization and registration, finances, HR, and social projects solutions for businesses; cloud platforms and data management, corporate communication services, tax monitoring platform, and other corporate software solutions; and business digitizing solutions, which range from online promotion to cloud services. It enables users to communicate, play, listen to music, watch, and create videos, and receive professional training and skills. The company was formerly known as VK Company Limited and changed its name to VK International Public Joint-Stock Company in August 2023. VK International Public Joint-Stock Company was founded in 1998 and is based in Kaliningrad, Russia.

About Autohome

Autohome Inc. operates as an online destination for automobile consumers in the People’s Republic of China. The company delivers interactive content and tools to automobile consumers through its three websites, autohome.com.cn, che168.com, and ttpai.cn on PCs, mobile devices, mobile applications, and mini apps. It provides media services, including automaker advertising services and regional marketing campaigns; and leads generation services comprising dealer subscription services, advertising services for individual dealers, and used automobile listing and other platform-based services. The company offers Autohome Mall, an online transaction platform; and online bidding platform for used automobiles, as well as collects commissions for facilitating transactions of auto-financing and insurance products on its platform. The company was formerly known as Sequel Limited and changed its name to Autohome Inc. in October 2011. Autohome Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.