Comparing Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) & Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ:MULN)

Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ:MULN) and Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Mullen Automotive and Upwork’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mullen Automotive	N/A	N/A	N/A
Upwork	6.80%	14.21%	4.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Mullen Automotive and Upwork, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mullen Automotive	0	0	0	0	N/A
Upwork	0	5	6	0	2.55

Upwork has a consensus price target of $16.55, indicating a potential upside of 48.66%. Given Upwork’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Upwork is more favorable than Mullen Automotive.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mullen Automotive and Upwork’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mullen Automotive	$370,000.00	46.03	-$972.26 million	N/A	N/A
Upwork	$689.14 million	2.22	$46.89 million	$0.07	159.02

Upwork has higher revenue and earnings than Mullen Automotive.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.7% of Mullen Automotive shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.7% of Upwork shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Mullen Automotive shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.0% of Upwork shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Mullen Automotive has a beta of 2.06, suggesting that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Upwork has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Upwork beats Mullen Automotive on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mullen Automotive

Mullen Automotive, Inc., an electric vehicle company, manufactures, sells, and distributes electric vehicles. Its products include passenger electric vehicles and commercial vehicles; and provides solid-state polymer battery technology. The company is headquartered in Brea, California.

About Upwork

Upwork Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company's work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development. Its work marketplace also enables clients to streamline workflows, such as talent sourcing, outreach, and contracting. The company's work marketplace offers access to various functionalities for remote engagements with talent, including communication and collaboration, ability to receive talent invoices through their work marketplace, and payment protection. Its marketplace offerings include Upwork Payroll and Upwork Enterprise, as well as managed and escrow services. The company was formerly known as Elance-oDesk, Inc. and changed its name to Upwork Inc. in May 2015. Upwork Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.