Comparing Sharplink Gaming (NASDAQ:SBET) & Mastercard (NYSE:MA)

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and Sharplink Gaming (NASDAQ:SBET) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mastercard and Sharplink Gaming”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mastercard	$35.08 billion	14.32	$14.97 billion	$18.18	31.55
Sharplink Gaming	$28.06 million	70.83	-$734.59 million	$0.05	183.00

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

Profitability

This table compares Mastercard and Sharplink Gaming’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mastercard	46.34%	239.99%	30.88%
Sharplink Gaming	-3,406.29%	-33.40%	-33.30%

Risk & Volatility

Mastercard has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sharplink Gaming has a beta of 10.56, indicating that its stock price is 956% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.3% of Mastercard shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.8% of Sharplink Gaming shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Mastercard shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Sharplink Gaming shares are held 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Mastercard and Sharplink Gaming, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mastercard	1	0	25	5	3.10
Sharplink Gaming	1	1	9	0	2.73

Mastercard currently has a consensus target price of $666.64, indicating a potential upside of 16.23%. Sharplink Gaming has a consensus target price of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 80.33%. Given Sharplink Gaming’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sharplink Gaming is more favorable than Mastercard.

Summary

Mastercard beats Sharplink Gaming on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions. It also provides solutions that enable businesses or governments to make payments to businesses, including Virtual Card Number, which is generated dynamically from a physical card and leverages the credit limit of the funding account; a platform to optimize supplier payment enablement campaigns for financial institutions; and treasury intelligence platform that offers corporations with recommendations to enhance working capital performance and accelerate spend on cards. In addition, the company offers Mastercard Send, which partners with digital messaging and payment platforms to enable consumers to send money directly within applications to other consumers; and Mastercard Cross-Border Services enables a range of payment flows through a distribution network with a single point of access to send and receive money globally through various channels, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, cards, and cash payouts. Further, it provides cyber and intelligence solutions; insights and analytics, consulting, marketing, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants; and open banking and digital identity services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus name. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

About Sharplink Gaming

SharpLink Gaming, Inc. operates as an online technology company that connects sports fans, leagues, and sports websites to sports betting and iGaming content. The company operates through four segments: Affiliate Marketing Services United States, Affiliate Marketing Services International, Sports Gaming Client Services, and SportsHub Games Network. It operates a performance marketing platform, which owns and operates state-specific web domains to attract, acquire, and drive local sports betting and casino traffic directly to the company's sportsbook and casino partners, which are licensed to operate in each respective state; and offers sports betting data to sports media publishers. It also provides iGaming and affiliate marketing network, which focuses on delivering quality traffic and player acquisitions, and retention and conversions to global iGaming operator partners worldwide; and development, hosting, operations, maintenance, and service of free-to-play games and contests. In addition, the company owns and operates various real-money fantasy sports and sports simulation games and mobile apps on its platform; and is licensed or authorized to operate in every state in the United States, where fantasy sports play is legal and in which SportsHub has elected to operate based on the financial viability. SharpLink Gaming, Inc. was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.