Head-To-Head Review: Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) and MetaWorks Platforms (OTCMKTS:MWRK)

Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) and MetaWorks Platforms (OTCMKTS:MWRK) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Advantage Solutions and MetaWorks Platforms’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advantage Solutions	-0.36%	-5.26%	-1.54%
MetaWorks Platforms	-582.82%	-249.65%	-79.17%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.8% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.1% of MetaWorks Platforms shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Advantage Solutions and MetaWorks Platforms, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advantage Solutions	0	2	2	0	2.50
MetaWorks Platforms	0	1	0	0	2.00

Advantage Solutions presently has a consensus target price of $3.43, suggesting a potential upside of 14.83%. Given Advantage Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Advantage Solutions is more favorable than MetaWorks Platforms.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Advantage Solutions and MetaWorks Platforms’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advantage Solutions	$4.22 billion	0.23	-$63.26 million	($0.07)	-42.71
MetaWorks Platforms	$410,000.00	3.68	-$5.65 million	N/A	N/A

MetaWorks Platforms has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Advantage Solutions.

Summary

Advantage Solutions beats MetaWorks Platforms on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc. provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services. This segment also provides retailer-centric services comprising retailer-centric merchandising and in-store media services. The Marketing segment offers brand-centric services, including shopper and consumer marketing, and brand experiential services; retailer-centric services, such as retail experiential and private label services; and digital marketing, and digital media and advertising services. The company was formerly known as Karman Holding Corp. and changed its name to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About MetaWorks Platforms

MetaWorks Platforms, Inc. provides blockchain and Web3 development platform. It offers turnkey set of services for companies to develop and integrate blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies into their business operations. The company provides business development and technical services; blockchain and technology program management services; customer development services; business launch services; and post-business launch support services. The company was formerly known as CurrencyWorks Inc. and changed its name to MetaWorks Platforms, Inc. in August 2022. MetaWorks Platforms, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Fairfield, California.