Critical Contrast: CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) and Reservoir Media (NASDAQ:RSVR)

Reservoir Media (NASDAQ:RSVR) and CuriosityStream (NASDAQ:CURI) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Reservoir Media and CuriosityStream”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Reservoir Media	$175.66 million	3.83	$8.30 million	$0.17	60.06
CuriosityStream	$71.66 million	2.08	-$6.43 million	$0.01	251.00

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

Risk and Volatility

Reservoir Media has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CuriosityStream has a beta of 1.81, meaning that its share price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Reservoir Media and CuriosityStream’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Reservoir Media	4.87%	2.33%	0.94%
CuriosityStream	0.03%	0.06%	0.03%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

44.4% of Reservoir Media shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.8% of CuriosityStream shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.0% of Reservoir Media shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 31.1% of CuriosityStream shares are owned 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 breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Reservoir Media and CuriosityStream, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Reservoir Media	0	2	0	0	2.00
CuriosityStream	0	2	1	1	2.75

CuriosityStream has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 99.20%. Given CuriosityStream’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CuriosityStream is more favorable than Reservoir Media.

Summary

Reservoir Media beats CuriosityStream on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Reservoir Media

Reservoir Media, Inc. operates as a music publishing company. It operates through two segments, Music Publishing and Recorded Music. The Music Publishing segment acquires interests in music catalogs, as well as signs songwriters. The Recorded Music segment engages in the acquisition of sound recording catalogs; discovery and development of recording artists; and marketing, distribution, sale, and licensing of the music catalogs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About CuriosityStream

CuriosityStream Inc. operates as a factual content streaming service and media company. The company provides premium video and audio programming services in various categories of factual entertainment, including science, history, society, nature, lifestyle, and technology through direct subscription video on-demand (SVoD) platforms accessible by internet connected devices, or indirectly via distribution partners who deliver CuriosityStream content via distributor's platform or system, as well as through bundled content licenses for SVoD and linear offerings, talks and courses, and partner bulk sales. It offers streaming content through devices, including televisions, set-top boxes, computers, streaming media players, game consoles, and mobile devices. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Silver Spring, Maryland.