Head to Head Analysis: MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) vs. Xometry (NASDAQ:XMTR)

Xometry (NASDAQ:XMTR) and MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Xometry has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MediaAlpha has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.3% of Xometry shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of MediaAlpha shares are held by institutional investors. 16.8% of Xometry shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of MediaAlpha shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Xometry and MediaAlpha’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xometry	-9.72%	-10.16%	-4.74%
MediaAlpha	1.41%	-11.98%	5.19%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Xometry and MediaAlpha, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xometry	1	2	4	0	2.43
MediaAlpha	0	1	6	0	2.86

Xometry currently has a consensus target price of $27.71, suggesting a potential downside of 10.60%. MediaAlpha has a consensus target price of $25.14, suggesting a potential upside of 94.91%. Given MediaAlpha’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MediaAlpha is more favorable than Xometry.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Xometry and MediaAlpha”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xometry	$463.41 million	3.32	-$67.47 million	($1.05)	-29.52
MediaAlpha	$388.15 million	2.22	-$40.42 million	$0.17	75.88

MediaAlpha has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Xometry. Xometry is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MediaAlpha, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

MediaAlpha beats Xometry on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xometry

Xometry, Inc. operates an online marketplace that enables buyers to source custom-manufactured parts and assemblies in the United States and internationally. It provides computer numerical control manufacturing, sheet metal forming, and sheet cutting; 3D printing, including fused deposition modeling, direct metal laser sintering, PolyJet, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, binder jetting, carbon digital light synthesis, multi jet fusion, and lubricant sublayer photo-curing; and die casting, stamping, injection molding, urethane casting, tube cutting, and tube bending, as well as finishing services, rapid prototyping, and high-volume production services. It serves aerospace, healthcare, robotics, industrial, defense, energy, automotive, government, education, and consumer goods industries. The company was formerly known as NextLine Manufacturing Corp. and changed its name to Xometry, Inc. in June 2015. Xometry, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland.

About MediaAlpha

MediaAlpha, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates an insurance customer acquisition platform in the United States. It optimizes customer acquisition in various verticals of property and casualty insurance, health insurance, and life insurance. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.