Head to Head Comparison: Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) and Palladyne AI (NASDAQ:PDYN)

Palladyne AI (NASDAQ:PDYN) and Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.0% of Palladyne AI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.1% of Axon Enterprise shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.4% of Palladyne AI shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Axon Enterprise shares are owned by company 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.

Profitability

This table compares Palladyne AI and Axon Enterprise’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palladyne AI	-254.75%	-53.29%	-40.05%
Axon Enterprise	6.19%	2.84%	1.36%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Palladyne AI and Axon Enterprise, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palladyne AI	1	2	3	0	2.33
Axon Enterprise	0	2	14	1	2.94

Palladyne AI currently has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 197.30%. Axon Enterprise has a consensus price target of $689.94, suggesting a potential upside of 64.13%. Given Palladyne AI’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Palladyne AI is more favorable than Axon Enterprise.

Volatility & Risk

Palladyne AI has a beta of 3.66, indicating that its stock price is 266% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Axon Enterprise has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Palladyne AI and Axon Enterprise”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Palladyne AI	$11.84 million	15.42	$10.04 million	($0.68)	-5.44
Axon Enterprise	$3.22 billion	10.61	$124.66 million	$2.41	174.43

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

Summary

Axon Enterprise beats Palladyne AI on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Palladyne AI

Palladyne AI Corp., a software company, focuses on delivering software that enhances the utility and functionality of third-party stationary and mobile robotic systems in the United States. Its Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Machine Learning (ML) software platform enables robots to observe, learn, reason, and act in structured and unstructured environments. The company's software platform enables robotic systems to perceive their environment and quickly adapt to changing circumstances by generalizing from their experience using dynamic real-time operations without extensive programming and with minimal robot training. It serves customers from various industries, such as industrial manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, defense, infrastructure maintenance and repair, energy, aerospace and aviation, and others. The company was formerly known as Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation and changed its name to Palladyne AI Corp. in March 2024. Palladyne AI Corp. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Axon Enterprise

Axon Enterprise, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells conducted energy devices (CEDs) under the TASER brand in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software and Sensors, and TASER. The company also offers hardware and cloud-based software solutions that enable law enforcement to capture, securely store, manage, share, and analyze video and other digital evidence. Its products include axon officer safety plan; taser 10, taser7, taser X26P, taser X2, taser 7 CQ, and civilian series; cameras, such as axon body, axon flex, axon fleet, axon air, axon signal sidearm, axon signal vehicle, axon interview, and axon interview portable kit; software, including axon records, evidence, standards, commander, performance, auto-transcribe, justice, investigate, respond, and justice, my90, and redaction assistant; mobile applications, and training services, as well as hardware extended warranties; and Axon docks, cartridges, and batteries. The company sells its products through its direct sales, distribution partners, online store, and third-party resellers. Axon Enterprise, Inc. has a strategic partnership with Fusus, Inc. to expand bility to aggregate live video, data, and sensor feeds. It serves law enforcement, federal, correction, fire, EMS, campus, justice healthcare, retail, private security, and personal safety industries. The company was formerly known as TASER International, Inc. and changed its name to Axon Enterprise, Inc. in April 2017. Axon Enterprise, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.