Comparing Sound Group (NASDAQ:SOGP) and Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ)

Sound Group (NASDAQ:SOGP) and Starz Entertainment (NASDAQ:STRZ) are both small-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Sound Group has a beta of 2.45, suggesting that its share price is 145% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Starz Entertainment has a beta of 2.46, suggesting that its share price is 146% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sound Group and Starz Entertainment”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sound Group	$443.69 million	0.13	$32.39 million	($1.21)	-10.42
Starz Entertainment	$963.40 million	0.46	-$115.80 million	($25.49)	-1.03

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

Profitability

This table compares Sound Group and Starz Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sound Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Starz Entertainment	-33.98%	-21.53%	-6.54%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.6% of Sound Group shares are held by institutional investors. 25.2% of Sound Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.6% of Starz Entertainment shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Sound Group and Starz Entertainment, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sound Group	0	1	0	0	2.00
Starz Entertainment	1	4	2	1	2.38

Starz Entertainment has a consensus price target of $29.33, indicating a potential upside of 11.87%. Given Starz Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Starz Entertainment is more favorable than Sound Group.

Summary

Starz Entertainment beats Sound Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sound Group

Sound Group Inc. operates as an audio-centric social and entertainment company. It focuses on building audio platform to connect and communicate. The company, through its product portfolio and in-house technologies, caters to user interest in audio entertainment and social networking. The company was formerly known as LIZHI INC. and changed its name to Sound Group Inc. in January 2024. Sound Group Inc. was founded in 2010 and is based in Singapore.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz is a premium cable and streaming network owned by Starz Entertainment, which was formerly a part of Lionsgate. Starz had about 20 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada as of Dec. 31, 2024. The company’s franchises include “Outlander” and “Power.”