Contrasting Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Skillz (NYSE:SKLZ)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Skillz (NYSE:SKLZ) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and Skillz”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Las Vegas Sands	$13.02 billion	2.61	$1.63 billion	$2.70	19.00
Skillz	$104.50 million	0.93	-$70.41 million	($3.71)	-1.68

Las Vegas Sands has higher revenue and earnings than Skillz. Skillz is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Las Vegas Sands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Las Vegas Sands and Skillz’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Las Vegas Sands	13.41%	118.27%	10.52%
Skillz	-55.23%	-50.40%	-20.94%

Risk and Volatility

Las Vegas Sands has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Skillz has a beta of 4.58, meaning that its stock price is 358% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Las Vegas Sands and Skillz, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Las Vegas Sands	0	7	11	0	2.61
Skillz	1	0	2	0	2.33

Las Vegas Sands presently has a consensus price target of $68.28, suggesting a potential upside of 33.10%. Skillz has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 139.96%. Given Skillz’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Skillz is more favorable than Las Vegas Sands.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.2% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.4% of Skillz shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Las Vegas Sands shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 59.4% of Skillz shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Las Vegas Sands beats Skillz on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the People’s Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The company’s integrated resorts feature accommodations, gaming, entertainment and retail malls, convention and exhibition facilities, celebrity chef restaurants, and other amenities. Las Vegas Sands Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Skillz

Skillz Inc. operates a mobile game platform in the United States and internationally. The company primarily develops and supports a proprietary online-hosted technology platform that enables independent game developers to host tournaments and provide competitive gaming activity to end-users. The company distributes games through direct app download from its website, as well as through third-party platforms. Skillz Inc. was founded in 2012 and is based in San Francisco, California.