Marcus & Millichap

Marcus & Millichap Inc receives a 4-star quantitative star rating, indicating our belief that this share class offers a somewhat attractive opportunity for investors. The stock currently trades at a 15% discount to our quantitative fair value estimate of $33.01 per share; however, some caution is warranted due to this estimate's medium uncertainty rating.

The firm's profitability bolsters our fair value estimate. Highly profitable companies are often more resilient in recessions and are likely to generate stronger future cash flows for shareholders. Reflecting the firm's profitability is its sales yield of 73.7%, which lies in the top 45% compared with global peers. This company has a robust ability to generate sales without much capital investment, freeing up more capital to be returned to shareholders in the long run. We believe this is a sign that shares could be cheap.

Conversely, the firm's valuation metrics are potentially concerning. A company's valuation metrics provide insights into the market's expectations for its future growth and profitability. The firm's enterprise value to market value ratio of 0.9, a core component of valuation, ranks in the bottom 30% compared with peers globally. The market value of equity makes up a large fraction of enterprise value, indicating that shares have sharply risen, or that the company has a "lazy" balance sheet that is underleveraged. Despite our favorable price/fair value ratio, this characteristic is a negative attribute.

The company's quantitative economic moat rating of none suggests any excess returns could erode quickly as competition arrives. However, its financial health score is strong, suggesting that the company should be well positioned to weather tough times.