36Kr (NASDAQ:KRKR) versus ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) Critical Analysis

36Kr (NASDAQ:KRKR) and ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares 36Kr and ACV Auctions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
36Kr	N/A	N/A	N/A
ACV Auctions	-12.51%	-12.94%	-5.75%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for 36Kr and ACV Auctions, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
36Kr	0	0	0	0	0.00
ACV Auctions	0	3	7	0	2.70

ACV Auctions has a consensus price target of $23.35, indicating a potential upside of 64.78%. Given ACV Auctions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ACV Auctions is more favorable than 36Kr.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of 36Kr shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.6% of ACV Auctions shares are owned by institutional investors. 39.4% of 36Kr shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.5% of ACV Auctions shares are owned by 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares 36Kr and ACV Auctions”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
36Kr	$302.70 million	0.03	-$12.71 million	($6.00)	-0.76
ACV Auctions	$637.16 million	3.75	-$79.70 million	($0.49)	-28.92

36Kr has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ACV Auctions. ACV Auctions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 36Kr, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

36Kr has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ACV Auctions has a beta of 1.73, meaning that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ACV Auctions beats 36Kr on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About 36Kr

36Kr Holdings Inc. provides content and business services in the People's Republic of China. It creates and distributes various content, including insightful reports on companies and industries, timely market updates, thought-provoking editorials, and commentaries, as well as original video and audio content in various industries, such as technology, consumer, retail, healthcare, media and entertainment, and enterprise services. The company's business services include online advertising services; enterprise value-added services, such as integrated marketing, advertisement agent, online/offline event, and consulting services; and subscription services to individuals, institutional investors, and enterprises. 36Kr Holdings Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

About ACV Auctions

ACV Auctions Inc. operates a digital marketplace that connects buyers and sellers for the online auction of wholesale vehicles. The company’s marketplace platform includes digital marketplace, which connects buyers and sellers by providing online auction, which facilitates real-time transactions of wholesale vehicles; Run List for pre-filtering and pre-screening of vehicles up to 24 hours prior to an auction taking place; ACV transportation service to enable the buyers to see real-time transportation quotes and status reports of the vehicle; ACV capital, a short-term inventory financing services for buyers to purchase vehicles; and Go Green’s seller assurance service for against claims related to defects in the vehicle. It also provides remarketing centers, which offers value-added services, such as vehicle reconditioning and storage for dealers and commercial partners. In addition, the company offers data services, including True360 report, which provides cosmetic and structural vehicle assessments integrated into vehicle history reports for dealer to make wholesale and retail transaction decisions on and off the marketplace; ACV market report provides transaction data and condition reports for comparable used vehicles, including pricing data from third-party sources and allows dealers to determine pricing and valuation strategies for used vehicles; and ACV MAX inventory management software enables dealers to manage their inventory and set pricing while turning vehicles. Further, it provides data and technology through inspection, such as condition reports, virtual lift solutions, apex device, and vehicle intelligence platform; and marketplace enablement, comprising MyACV application, private marketplaces, operations automation, live appraisals, and programmatic buying service. ACV Auctions Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.