Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) & John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) Head to Head Comparison

John Wiley & Sons (NYSE:WLY) and Cardlytics (NASDAQ:CDLX) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

John Wiley & Sons has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cardlytics has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares John Wiley & Sons and Cardlytics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John Wiley & Sons	$1.68 billion	1.46	$221.62 million	$3.78	12.71
Cardlytics	$233.27 million	0.09	-$103.49 million	($18.48)	-0.20

John Wiley & Sons has higher revenue and earnings than Cardlytics. Cardlytics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than John Wiley & Sons, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares John Wiley & Sons and Cardlytics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John Wiley & Sons	11.90%	27.99%	8.16%
Cardlytics	-55.92%	-956.56%	-38.39%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for John Wiley & Sons and Cardlytics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John Wiley & Sons	0	1	1	0	2.50
Cardlytics	2	1	0	0	1.33

Cardlytics has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 176.24%. Given Cardlytics’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cardlytics is more favorable than John Wiley & Sons.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

73.9% of John Wiley & Sons shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.1% of Cardlytics shares are held by institutional investors. 17.6% of John Wiley & Sons shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Cardlytics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

John Wiley & Sons beats Cardlytics on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About John Wiley & Sons

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. engages in the provision of research and learning materials. It operates through the following segments: Research, Learning, and Held for Sale or Sold. The Research segment consists of research publishing and research solutions. The Learning segment includes academic and professional reporting lines and consists of publishing and related knowledge solutions. The Held for Sale or Sold segment offers businesses held-for-sale including Wiley Edge and CrossKnowledge, University Services and Tuition Manager, and Test Prep and Advancement Courses. The company was founded by Charles Wiley in 1807 and is headquartered in Hoboken, NJ.

About Cardlytics

Cardlytics, Inc. operates an advertising platform in the United States and the United Kingdom. It offers Cardlytics platform, a proprietary native bank advertising channel that enables marketers to reach customers through their network of financial institution partners through digital channels, such as online, mobile applications, email, and various real-time notifications; and Bridg platform, a customer data platform which utilizes point-of-sale data and enables marketers to perform analytics and targeted loyalty marketing, as well as measure the impact of their marketing. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.