Head to Head Survey: Applied Visual Sciences (OTCMKTS:APVS) versus Reliance (NYSE:RS)

Reliance (NYSE:RS) and Applied Visual Sciences (OTCMKTS:APVS) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Reliance and Applied Visual Sciences”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Reliance	$15.81 billion	1.38	$739.40 million	$17.20	24.84
Applied Visual Sciences	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Reliance has higher revenue and earnings than Applied Visual Sciences.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.3% of Reliance shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Reliance shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 33.0% of Applied Visual Sciences shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Reliance has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Visual Sciences has a beta of 6.79, meaning that its share price is 579% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Reliance and Applied Visual Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Reliance	5.65%	12.51%	8.47%
Applied Visual Sciences	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Reliance and Applied Visual Sciences, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Reliance	1	5	2	1	2.33
Applied Visual Sciences	0	0	0	0	0.00

Reliance presently has a consensus target price of $378.67, indicating a potential downside of 11.36%. Given Applied Visual Sciences’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Visual Sciences is more favorable than Reliance.

Summary

Reliance beats Applied Visual Sciences on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Reliance

Reliance, Inc. operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries. It sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, which primarily include small machine shops and fabricators. The company was formerly known as Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and changed its name to Reliance, Inc. in February 2024. Reliance, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

About Applied Visual Sciences

Applied Visual Sciences, Inc., a software technology company, designs and develops computer-vision detection solutions based on image processing science for aviation/homeland security and healthcare markets. It utilizes imaging technologies and analytics to create integrated information management technology products and services that address problems for corporations and governmental agencies. The company offers PinPoint, an intelligent computer-vision automated target recognition technology for the detection of guns, explosives, and other threat items contained in baggage in the airport environment or for building security applications; and Signature Mapping platform technology for use in the imaging field of diagnostic radiology and pathology. It also provides Signature Mapping Detection System, an automated hardware-software laboratory solution used to operate various infectious disease applications through multi-threaded detection algorithms. In addition, the company offers Signature Mapping Tuberculosis Detection software, an automated hardware and software technology platform; and Signature Mapping Breast Cancer Detection, a breast cancer detection solution. Applied Visual Sciences, Inc. markets its products through direct sales and indirect distribution channels worldwide. The company was formerly known as Guardian Technologies International, Inc. and changed its name to Applied Visual Sciences, Inc. in July 2010. Applied Visual Sciences, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is based in Leesburg, Virginia.