Head to Head Contrast: Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) and zSpace (NASDAQ:ZSPC)

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) and zSpace (NASDAQ:ZSPC) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Appian and zSpace’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Appian	0.17%	-11.83%	0.86%
zSpace	-91.13%	N/A	-236.00%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Appian and zSpace”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Appian	$726.94 million	2.25	$1.23 million	$0.01	2,215.00
zSpace	$27.86 million	0.05	-$25.39 million	($25.50)	-0.02

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

Volatility and Risk

Appian has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, zSpace has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Appian and zSpace, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Appian	2	2	2	1	2.29
zSpace	1	1	2	0	2.25

Appian presently has a consensus price target of $29.33, suggesting a potential upside of 32.43%. zSpace has a consensus price target of $100.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22,534.68%. Given zSpace’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe zSpace is more favorable than Appian.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.7% of Appian shares are owned by institutional investors. 43.0% of Appian shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of zSpace shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Appian beats zSpace on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Appian

Appian Corporation, a software company that provides low-code design platform in the United States, Mexico, Portugal, and internationally. The company's platform offers artificial intelligence, process automation, data fabric, and process mining. It provides The Appian Platform, an integrated automation platform that enables organizations to design, automate, and optimize mission-critical business processes. The company also offers professional and customer support services. It serves to financial services, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, telecommunications, and transportation industries. Appian Corporation was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About zSpace

zSpace Technologies, Inc. is a provider of commercial augmented reality and virtual reality technology principally in the education market. The Company offers differentiated hardware along with learning software modules for K-12 science, technology, engineering, game design and mathematics applications, as well as workforce-oriented career and technical education applications. zSpace Technologies Inc. is based in SAN JOSE, Calif.