Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) and AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) Financial Review

Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) and AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Coda Octopus Group and AeroVironment”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coda Octopus Group	$26.56 million	4.11	$4.13 million	$0.44	22.00
AeroVironment	$1.98 billion	3.02	-$265.12 million	($2.34)	-50.22

Coda Octopus Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than AeroVironment. AeroVironment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Coda Octopus Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Coda Octopus Group has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AeroVironment has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

20.1% of Coda Octopus Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of AeroVironment shares are held by institutional investors. 19.5% of Coda Octopus Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of AeroVironment shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Coda Octopus Group and AeroVironment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coda Octopus Group	17.64%	8.32%	7.58%
AeroVironment	-5.77%	4.04%	3.13%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Coda Octopus Group and AeroVironment, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coda Octopus Group	0	1	2	0	2.67
AeroVironment	1	5	18	2	2.81

Coda Octopus Group currently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 44.63%. AeroVironment has a consensus price target of $225.80, suggesting a potential upside of 92.15%. Given AeroVironment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe AeroVironment is more favorable than Coda Octopus Group.

Summary

Coda Octopus Group beats AeroVironment on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coda Octopus Group

Coda Octopus Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, sells, and rentals underwater technologies and equipment for real time 3D imaging, mapping, defense, and survey applications in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through two segments, Marine Engineering Business and Marine Technology Business. The company's solutions include geophysical systems; GNSS-aided navigation systems (attitude and positioning systems); real time volumetric imaging sonar products; and diver augmented vision display systems. It also offers GeoSurvey, a software and hardware package for acquisition and processing of sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data in oil and gas companies; DA4G, a geophysical hardware; and Survey Engine, a software product that provides post-processing solutions for sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data. In addition, the company offers 3D/4D/5D/6D imaging sonar technology under the Echoscope and Echoscope PIPE name; diving technology under the CodaOctopus DAVD; and operates as a sub-contractor for defense contractors, as well as supplies sub-assemblies for broader mission critical defense systems. It markets and sells its technology solutions for the subsea and underwater markets. Coda Octopus Group, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments. The company supplies UAS, TMS, unmanned ground vehicle, and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and to international allied governments. It also designs, engineers, tools, and manufactures unmanned aerial and aircraft systems, including airborne platforms, payloads and payload integration, ground control systems, and ground support equipment and other items and services related to unmanned aircraft systems. In addition, the company offers small UAS products, including training, spare parts, product repair, product replacement, and the customer contracted operation. Further, it develops high-altitude pseudo-satellite UAS systems. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.