Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) and Redwire (NYSE:RDW) Critical Contrast

Redwire (NYSE:RDW) and Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Redwire and Virgin Galactic, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Redwire	2	3	6	0	2.36
Virgin Galactic	2	3	1	0	1.83

Redwire presently has a consensus target price of $13.75, suggesting a potential upside of 17.22%. Virgin Galactic has a consensus target price of $4.20, suggesting a potential upside of 47.37%. Given Virgin Galactic’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Virgin Galactic is more favorable than Redwire.

Volatility and Risk

Redwire has a beta of 2.44, indicating that its stock price is 144% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Virgin Galactic has a beta of 2.01, indicating that its stock price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

8.1% of Redwire shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.6% of Virgin Galactic shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Redwire shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Virgin Galactic shares are owned 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Redwire	-70.32%	-16.24%	-7.20%
Virgin Galactic	-17,615.71%	-108.00%	-32.35%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Redwire and Virgin Galactic”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Redwire	$304.10 million	6.37	-$114.32 million	($3.17)	-3.70
Virgin Galactic	$7.04 million	29.61	-$346.74 million	($7.47)	-0.38

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

Summary

Redwire beats Virgin Galactic on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Redwire

Redwire Corporation provides critical space solutions and space infrastructure for government and commercial customers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides avionics and sensors including star trackers, sun sensors, critical for navigation, and control of spacecraft; camera systems; solar array solutions for spacecraft spanning the spectrum of size, power needs, and orbital location; and strain composite booms, coilable booms, truss structures, telescope baffles, and deployable booms to position sensors or solar arrays away from the spacecraft. It offers software suite that enables digital engineering and generation of high-fidelity, interactive modeling and simulations of individual components, entire spacecraft, and full constellations in a cloud-based environment. In addition, the company microgravity payloads, radio frequency systems, antennas, star trackers, platforms, and in-space manufacturing and biotech facilities. Redwire Corporation is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.

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.