Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN – Get Rating) and WPP (NASDAQ:WPP – Get Rating) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
85.9% of Groupon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of WPP shares are held by institutional investors. 15.9% of Groupon shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of WPP shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Get Groupon alerts:Risk and Volatility
Groupon has a beta of 2.05, meaning that its stock price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WPP has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Groupon and WPP's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Groupon | $967.11 million | 0.29 | $118.67 million | ($0.95) | -9.75 |
| WPP | $17.60 billion | 0.51 | $876.90 million | N/A | N/A |
WPP has higher revenue and earnings than Groupon.
Profitability
This table compares Groupon and WPP's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Groupon | -2.50% | -24.63% | -3.88% |
| WPP | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Groupon and WPP, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Groupon | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.83 |
| WPP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Groupon currently has a consensus target price of $16.67, suggesting a potential upside of 79.99%. Given Groupon's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Groupon is more favorable than WPP.
Summary
WPP beats Groupon on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Groupon
(Get Rating)
Groupon, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a marketplace that connects consumers to merchants. It operates in two segments, North America and International. The company sells goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants; and first-party goods inventory. It serves customers through its mobile applications and websites. The company was formerly known as ThePoint.com, Inc. and changed its name to Groupon, Inc. in October 2008. Groupon, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
About WPP
(Get Rating)
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 plans and creates marketing and branding campaigns; designs and produces advertisements across various media; and provides media buying services, such as strategy and business development, media investment, data and technology, and content. The company also offers public relations advisory services to clients who are seeking to communicate with a range of stakeholders from consumers to governments and the business and financial communities; and specialist agency services. WPP plc was founded in 1985 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
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