Financial Contrast: PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS) versus PDD (NASDAQ:PDD)

PDD (NASDAQ:PDD) and PetMed Express (NASDAQ:PETS) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PDD and PetMed Express”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PDD	$61.75 billion	2.18	$13.99 billion	$9.40	10.06
PetMed Express	$226.97 million	0.20	-$6.27 million	($3.12)	-0.68

PDD has higher revenue and earnings than PetMed Express. PetMed Express is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PDD, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for PDD and PetMed Express, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PDD	0	9	6	0	2.40
PetMed Express	1	1	0	0	1.50

PDD currently has a consensus price target of $137.86, indicating a potential upside of 45.85%. Given PDD’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PDD is more favorable than PetMed Express.

Profitability

This table compares PDD and PetMed Express’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PDD	23.01%	26.57%	16.99%
PetMed Express	-35.51%	-70.81%	-33.67%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.8% of PDD shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.3% of PetMed Express shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of PDD shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of PetMed Express shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

PDD has a beta of 0.04, suggesting that its stock price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PetMed Express has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

PDD beats PetMed Express on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PDD

PDD Holdings Inc., a multinational commerce group, owns and operates a portfolio of businesses. It operates Pinduoduo, an e-commerce platform that offers products in various categories, including agricultural produce, apparel, shoes, bags, mother and childcare products, food and beverage, electronic appliances, furniture and household goods, cosmetics and other personal care, sports and fitness items and auto accessories; and Temu, an online marketplace. It focuses on bringing businesses and people into the digital economy. The company was formerly known as Pinduoduo Inc. and changed its name to PDD Holdings Inc. in February 2023. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

About PetMed Express

PetMed Express, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pet pharmacy in the United States. The company markets prescription and non-prescription pet medications, health products, and other supplies for dogs, cats, and horses. It offers non-prescription medications and supplies, such as flea and tick control products, bone and joint care products, vitamins, treats, nutritional supplements, hygiene products, and household pet supplies; and prescription medications, including heartworm preventatives, flea and tick preventatives, arthritis, dermatitis, thyroid, diabetes, pain medications, heart/blood pressure, and other specialty medications, as well as generic substitutes. The company also sells food, beds, crates, stairs, and other pet supplies. It sells its products through its Internet website; mobile app; customer support center; and direct mail/print, which includes brochures and postcards. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida.