Contrasting Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) and ZipLink (OTCMKTS:ZIPL)

Autohome (NYSE:ATHM) and ZipLink (OTCMKTS:ZIPL) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Autohome and ZipLink’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autohome	21.43%	5.94%	4.75%
ZipLink	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.1% of Autohome shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of Autohome shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 57.5% of ZipLink 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Autohome and ZipLink”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autohome	$922.63 million	2.30	$225.19 million	$1.64	11.07
ZipLink	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Autohome has higher revenue and earnings than ZipLink.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Autohome and ZipLink, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autohome	1	3	0	0	1.75
ZipLink	0	0	0	0	0.00

Autohome presently has a consensus target price of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 54.27%. Given Autohome’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Autohome is more favorable than ZipLink.

Summary

Autohome beats ZipLink on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About ZipLink

This record represents the public shell of ZipLink, Inc. In November 2000, ZipLink, Inc. suspended its operations and announced the lay off of substantially all of its employees except those necessary to wind down operations. Ziplink, Inc. operated as a wholesale connectivity provider in North America for the Business-to-Business marketplace, including Internet service providers, competitive local exchange carriers, Web appliance vendors, and PC manufacturers and distributors, as of September 30, 2000. ZipLink also offered a range of Internet connectivity services for Internet appliances, including Internet access and subscriber authentication. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Lowell, Massachusetts.