KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI – Get Rating) and Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Get Rating) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.
Profitability
This table compares KVH Industries and Planet Labs PBC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| KVH Industries | -6.11% | -7.72% | -5.84% |
| Planet Labs PBC | N/A | -60.83% | -19.82% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
65.5% of KVH Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.3% of Planet Labs PBC shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.1% of KVH Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Planet Labs PBC shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares KVH Industries and Planet Labs PBC’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| KVH Industries | $171.77 million | 0.81 | -$9.76 million | ($0.56) | -13.09 |
| Planet Labs PBC | $131.21 million | 10.31 | -$137.12 million | N/A | N/A |
KVH Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Planet Labs PBC.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for KVH Industries and Planet Labs PBC, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| KVH Industries | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.50 |
| Planet Labs PBC | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
KVH Industries presently has a consensus price target of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 84.17%. Planet Labs PBC has a consensus price target of $10.38, suggesting a potential upside of 105.45%. Given Planet Labs PBC’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Planet Labs PBC is more favorable than KVH Industries.
Summary
KVH Industries beats Planet Labs PBC on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About KVH Industries (Get Rating)
KVH Industries, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets mobile connectivity products and services for the marine and land mobile markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Mobile Connectivity and Inertial Navigation segments. The company offers mobile satellite TV and communications products; two-way satellite communications systems; onboard TracPhone terminals and hub equipment; data management software; and Iridium OpenPort hardware products and services. It also offers airtime plans that enable customers to obtain Internet and voice services; and value-added, and news and radio content services to retail customers. In addition, the company provides navigation, guidance, and stabilization products for the commercial and defense markets comprising precision fiber optic gyro-based systems; tactical navigation systems for tactical trucks and light armored vehicles; and commercial products, such as navigation and positioning systems for various applications consisting of precision mapping, dynamic surveying, autonomous vehicles, train location control and track geometry measurement systems, industrial robotics, and optical stabilization applications. Further, it offers content, maritime news, sporting content, and television programming delivery services; movie distribution services; and services and support for the mini-VSAT Broadband solution, as well as IoT connectivity as a service. The company sells its mobile communications products through a network of independent retailers, chain stores, distributors, and service providers, as well as to manufacturers of vessels, maritime equipment, and vehicles; and navigation products directly to the United States and foreign governments, and government contractors, as well as through authorized independent sales representatives. It also sells and leases its products directly to end users. KVH Industries, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Middletown, Rhode Island
About Planet Labs PBC (Get Rating)
Planet Labs PBC designs, constructs, and launches constellations of satellites with the intent of providing high cadence geospatial data delivered to customers through an online platform worldwide. The company offers Open Geospatial Consortium, a cloud-native proprietary technology that performs critical processing and overall harmonizing of images for time series and data fusion and analysis; and space-based hardware and related software systems. It serves agriculture, mapping, forestry, and finance and insurance, as well as federal, state, and local government bodies. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
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