Head-To-Head Review: Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC) & Viaspace (OTCMKTS:VSPC)

Viaspace (OTCMKTS:VSPC) and Digimarc (NASDAQ:DMRC) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Viaspace has a beta of -0.35, suggesting that its share price is 135% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Digimarc has a beta of 1.68, suggesting that its share price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Viaspace and Digimarc’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Viaspace	N/A	N/A	N/A
Digimarc	-109.17%	-50.08%	-38.57%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.9% of Digimarc shares are owned by institutional investors. 45.8% of Viaspace shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of Digimarc shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Viaspace and Digimarc”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Viaspace	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Digimarc	$38.42 million	4.92	-$39.01 million	($1.71)	-5.08

Viaspace has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Digimarc.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Viaspace and Digimarc, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Viaspace	0	0	0	0	0.00
Digimarc	1	0	1	0	2.00

Digimarc has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 130.15%. Given Digimarc’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Digimarc is more favorable than Viaspace.

Summary

Digimarc beats Viaspace on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Viaspace

VIASPACE Inc. engages in the renewable energy business in the United States and internationally. It develops Giant King Grass (GKG), a biomass and energy crop. The company’s GKG could be burned in biomass power plants to generate electricity; made into pellets that could be burned together with coal to reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants; generated bio methane through anaerobic digestion; and used as a feedstock for low carbon liquid biofuels for transportation, biochemical, and bio plastics, as well as animal feed. VIASPACE Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Santa Cruz, California.

About Digimarc

Digimarc Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automatic identification solutions to commercial and government customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers Digimarc Validate protects, a cloud-based record of product authentication information; Digimarc Engage, an interactive communications channel connecting brands and consumers; and Digimarc Recycle. Its solutions are used in various application solutions, such as sorting of consumer-packaged goods in recycling streams. The company offers its solutions through its sales personnel and business partners. Digimarc Corporation was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Beaverton, Oregon.