Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) and Collective Audience (NASDAQ:CAUD) Financial Contrast

Collective Audience (NASDAQ:CAUD) and Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Collective Audience and Montrose Environmental Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Collective Audience	0	0	0	0	N/A
Montrose Environmental Group	0	0	4	0	3.00

Montrose Environmental Group has a consensus price target of $46.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.74%. Given Montrose Environmental Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Montrose Environmental Group is more favorable than Collective Audience.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

60.8% of Collective Audience shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are held by institutional investors. 58.0% of Collective Audience shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Collective Audience and Montrose Environmental Group’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Collective Audience	$20.24 million	0.36	-$2.50 million	N/A	N/A
Montrose Environmental Group	$648.11 million	2.00	-$30.86 million	($1.48)	-25.67

Collective Audience has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Montrose Environmental Group.

Profitability

This table compares Collective Audience and Montrose Environmental Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Collective Audience	N/A	N/A	N/A
Montrose Environmental Group	-4.55%	-1.78%	-0.67%

Risk & Volatility

Collective Audience has a beta of -1.56, meaning that its share price is 256% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Montrose Environmental Group has a beta of 1.88, meaning that its share price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Montrose Environmental Group beats Collective Audience on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Collective Audience

Collective Audience, Inc. provides e-commerce and digital consumer acquisition solutions in the United States. Its digital marketing business enables brands and agencies to advertise across digital media and connected TV platforms. The company is headquartered in New York, New York. Collective Audience, Inc. is a subsidiary of Logiq, Inc.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. operates as an environmental services company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Assessment, Permitting and Response; Measurement and Analysis; and Remediation and Reuse. The Assessment, Permitting and Response segment provides scientific advisory and consulting services to support environmental assessments; environmental emergency response and recovery; toxicology consulting and environmental audits and permits for current operations; facility upgrades; new projects; decommissioning projects; and development projects. This segment also offers technical advisory and consulting services, including regulatory compliance support and planning, environmental, ecosystem and toxicological assessments, and support during responses to environmental disruptions. The Measurement and Analysis segment tests and analyzes air, water, and soil to determine concentrations of contaminants, as well as the toxicological impact of contaminants on flora, fauna, and human health. Its services include source and ambient air testing and monitoring, leak detection, and advanced analytical laboratory services, such as storm water, wastewater, and drinking water analysis. The Remediation and Reuse segment provides engineering, design, implementation, and operations and maintenance services primarily to treat contaminated water, remove contaminants from soil, or create biogas from waste. The company serves financial, oil and gas, utilities, construction, automotive, real-estate, midstream energy, manufacturing, commodities, petrochemical, food and beverage, telecommunications, and engineering industries, as well as local, state, provincial, and federal government entities. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas.