Critical Survey: zSpace (NASDAQ:ZSPC) and Workiva (NYSE:WK)

Workiva (NYSE:WK) and zSpace (NASDAQ:ZSPC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Workiva	1.53%	-68.43%	1.47%
zSpace	-91.13%	N/A	-236.00%

Volatility and Risk

Workiva has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, zSpace has a beta of -1.94, suggesting that its stock price is 294% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.2% of Workiva shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.8% of Workiva shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of zSpace shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Workiva and zSpace”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Workiva	$884.57 million	3.30	-$26.17 million	$0.23	223.01
zSpace	$27.86 million	0.02	-$25.39 million	($25.50)	-0.01

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Workiva and zSpace, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Workiva	1	0	10	0	2.82
zSpace	1	1	2	0	2.25

Workiva presently has a consensus target price of $90.33, indicating a potential upside of 76.12%. zSpace has a consensus target price of $100.00, indicating a potential upside of 71,328.57%. Given zSpace’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe zSpace is more favorable than Workiva.

Summary

Workiva beats zSpace on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Workiva

Workiva Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based reporting solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers Workiva platform, a multi-tenant cloud software that provides data linking capabilities; audit trail services; administrators access management; and allows customers to connect data from multiple enterprise resource planning, human capital management, and customer relationship management systems, as well as other third-party cloud and on-premise applications. It serves public and private companies, government agencies, and higher-education institutions. Workiva Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Ames, Iowa.

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.