Active investors need a way to find growth and value opportunities in the market. Two of the best platforms for identifying strong stocks to buy are Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha.
Both platforms offer in-depth stock screeners, stock research, and portfolio management tools. However, there are important differences in how they approach stock analysis that can make one better for certain types of investors than the other.
In our Stock Rover vs. Seeking Alpha comparison, we’ll help you decide which of these stock research platforms is best for you.
About Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha
Stock Rover launched in 2012 and has steadily introduced more stock research and analysis features over the past decade. It’s known for offering a wide range of financial metrics and pre-built screeners along with detailed stock research reports. The platform doesn’t say how many investors use it.
Seeking Alpha launched in 2004 and is now one of the largest online investing platforms, with more than 20 million monthly users. The platform offers a combination of screeners, analysis articles written by professional contributors, and market data.
Similarities
Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha share a lot in common. Both are targeted at active investors with investment horizons ranging from a few months to a few years. Both offer in-depth stock research, including detailed financial metrics and fundamental analysis. The two platforms also help investors find opportunities with comprehensive screening tools that focus on financial performance, value, and growth.
However, the two platforms present their data in different ways and give investors access to different decision-making tools. Let’s take a closer look.
Stock Rover vs. Seeking Alpha: Stock Research
Both platforms give you access to extremely detailed financial data for thousands of stocks. You can view not only common ratios like price-to-earnings, but also get helpful data for building custom valuation models like price-to-sales and price-to-cash flow ratios. You also get access to more than 10 years of historical data from both platforms.
One thing to note is that Stock Rover calculates a fair value for each stock, whereas Seeking Alpha does not. In addition, Stock Rover puts all of its data into PDF research reports, which can be great for investors who prefer reading about a stock rather than digging through data tables. Seeking Alpha doesn’t offer similar research reports.
Both platforms also rate stocks based on factors like their growth, valuation, and profitability. Stock Rover assigns a 0-100 rating, while Seeking Alpha assigns an A-F rating. You can easily compare stocks against peer companies from within the same industry.
Contributor Analysis
One of the most unique aspects of Seeking Alpha is that it allows contributors to weigh in on individual stocks. The platform has more than 7,000 contributors, many of whom are stock analysts, financial bloggers, and hedge fund managers.
The contributor articles can take many different approaches to analyzing a stock. They might use different valuation models, for example, or focus on aspects like a company’s moat. Usually, some articles will be bullish and some will be bearish, giving you competing views of the same stock.
The contributor articles are great for investors who want to know everything about a company and analyze it from every angle. But they can also be overwhelming for investors who suffer from information overload. They also often require a strong knowledge of valuation modeling.
Stock Rover vs. Seeking Alpha: Stock Screening
Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha both provide outstanding stock screeners that include hundreds of financial, fundamental, and performance metrics. Investors won’t find either of these screeners to be lacking in filters and they’re both relatively easy to use.
One major difference to note is that Stock Rover has more than 150 built-in screens, while Seeking Alpha has around 25. Of course, you can build and save your own custom screens with either platform.
Top Stocks List
Seeking Alpha includes a top stocks list of around 50-75 stocks, which can be a helpful tool for investors who want stock picks alongside all of the research tools. The top stocks list is based on a quantitative model and ratings from Seeking Alpha contributors and Wall Street analysts.
Stock Rover doesn’t have a similar list of ready-to-research stocks. However, it’s relatively easy to build a custom screen based on analyst ratings and use it like a top-rated stocks list.
Stock Rover vs. Seeking Alpha: ETFs and Mutual Funds
Both Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha cover ETFs in addition to stocks. Seeking Alpha has a dedicated ETF screener, while Stock Rover uses the same screener for stocks and ETFs.
Stock Rover also has data for more than 40,000 mutual funds, including Morningstar ratings. Seeking Alpha doesn’t have any mutual fund data.
Stock Rover vs. Seeking Alpha: Portfolio Management
Stock Rover offers comprehensive portfolio management tools for investors. You can monitor your portfolio’s risk-adjusted return, run correlation analysis, and calculate trades to rebalance your portfolio. Stock Rover also has a neat simulator that lets you predict your future return under different scenarios and analyze the impact of any single trade on your overall performance.
Seeking Alpha lets you create portfolios, but they’re much more limited in scope. Essentially, you get a dashboard to view ratings and key financial data for the stocks in your portfolio at a glance. You can’t monitor performance or analyze correlations.
Stock Rover vs. Seeking Alpha: Pricing Comparison
Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha each offer a limited free plan that provides access to basic stock data, but little else.
Paid plans for Stock Rover start at $79.99 per year, but note that you’ll need a Premium Plus plan for $279.99 per year to get ETF and mutual fund data as well as stock ratings.
Seeking Alpha Premium costs $239 per year and includes full access to the platform.
Which Service is Better?
Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha are both excellent stock research platforms. It’s hard to go wrong with either of them.
That said, they have slightly different strengths.
Stock Rover is the better choice if you want stock research reports, fair value analysis, or portfolio management tools. It’s also better for investors who invest in mutual funds alongside stocks and ETFs. Stock Rover could also be a good option for investors who only want a comprehensive stock screener and don’t want to pay for a more expensive Seeking Alpha subscription.
Seeking Alpha is the better choice if you want to know everything there is to know about a stock. The contributor articles are a really unique selling point for this platform, but they take time and focus. Seeking Alpha can also be good for investors who want a combination of stock picks and research, thanks to its top stocks list.
Alternatives to Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha
Some investors might prefer a platform that leans more towards providing stock recommendations than research. In that case, Zacks Premium could be a good option. While Zacks has tons of stock research available, investors have the option to simply follow the stock picks in its #1 Rank List. Zacks Premium costs $249 per year.
Another option is The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor newsletter. This is a stock recommendation newsletter that offers two long-term growth stock picks each month. The newsletter has beaten the S&P 500 466% to 125% since its inception in 2002 (as of October 2023). Stock Advisor is very easy to follow and requires almost no research time, which can be a big advantage for time-strapped investors. The service costs $199 per year.
Conclusion: Stock Rover vs. Seeking Alpha
Stock Rover and Seeking Alpha both offer in-depth stock research and comprehensive stock scanners. Stock Rover stands out for its mutual fund data, portfolio management tools, and research reports. Seeking Alpha stands out for its contributor articles and top stocks list.
Want to know more about these two services before you decide which one to use? Check out our full Stock Rover review and our full Seeking Alpha review for more details.
