Reviewing Spire Global (NYSE:SPIR) & Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) and Spire Global (NYSE:SPIR) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

46.6% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.0% of Spire Global shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.7% of Spire Global shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Virgin Galactic and Spire Global”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Virgin Galactic	$1.66 million	109.04	-$346.74 million	($7.47)	-0.42
Spire Global	$110.45 million	2.32	-$102.82 million	$0.38	20.38

Spire Global has higher revenue and earnings than Virgin Galactic. Virgin Galactic is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Spire Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Virgin Galactic has a beta of 1.98, meaning that its stock price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spire Global has a beta of 2.43, meaning that its stock price is 143% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Virgin Galactic and Spire Global, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Virgin Galactic	2	3	1	0	1.83
Spire Global	1	2	2	0	2.20

Virgin Galactic presently has a consensus target price of $4.33, indicating a potential upside of 37.52%. Spire Global has a consensus target price of $11.10, indicating a potential upside of 43.32%. Given Spire Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Spire Global is more favorable than Virgin Galactic.

Profitability

This table compares Virgin Galactic and Spire Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Virgin Galactic	-17,615.71%	-108.00%	-32.35%
Spire Global	40.08%	-80.89%	-25.80%

Summary

Spire Global beats Virgin Galactic on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., an aerospace and space travel company, focuses on the development, manufacture, and operation of spaceships and related technologies. The company engages in the design and development, manufacturing, ground and flight testing, spaceflight operation, and post-flight maintenance of spaceflight systems for private individuals, researchers, and government agencies. Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Tustin, California.

About Spire Global

Spire Global, Inc. provides subscription-based data, insights, predictive analytics, and related project-based services worldwide. The company offers satellite-based aircraft tracking data to power applications, drive decision making, and improve cost efficiencies; data, insights, and predictive analytics for highly accurate ship monitoring, real-time and near real-time vessel updates, port operations, ship safety and route optimization; and space-based data, AI-powered insights, and predictive weather analytics for accurate weather forecasting. It serves maritime, weather, aviation, and space services industries. The company was formerly known as Nanosatisfi, Inc. and changed its name to Spire Global, Inc. in July 2014. Spire Global, Inc. is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia.