Contrasting VerifyMe (NASDAQ:VRME) and TuSimple (NASDAQ:TSP)

VerifyMe (NASDAQ:VRME) and TuSimple (NASDAQ:TSP) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares VerifyMe and TuSimple’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VerifyMe	$19.58 million	0.56	-$14.40 million	($0.34)	-3.26
TuSimple	$9.37 million	24.33	-$472.05 million	($1.58)	-0.63

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for VerifyMe and TuSimple, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VerifyMe	0	0	2	0	3.00
TuSimple	0	1	0	0	2.00

VerifyMe presently has a consensus price target of $2.85, indicating a potential upside of 156.76%. TuSimple has a consensus price target of $1.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.50%. Given VerifyMe’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe VerifyMe is more favorable than TuSimple.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

13.1% of VerifyMe shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.1% of TuSimple shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.1% of VerifyMe shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.0% of TuSimple shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

VerifyMe has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TuSimple has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares VerifyMe and TuSimple’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VerifyMe	-12.48%	-20.65%	-13.56%
TuSimple	-8,526.32%	-37.56%	-33.71%

Summary

VerifyMe beats TuSimple on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About VerifyMe

VerifyMe, Inc., together with its subsidiary, PeriShip Global, LLC, operates as a technology solutions provider that specializes in products to connect brands with consumers and providing brands with end-to-end logistics management for their products. The company operates through two segments, VerifyMe Solutions and PeriShip Global Solutions. The VerifyMe Solutions segment offers technology solutions to connect brands with consumers allowing brand owners to gather business intelligence while engaging directly with their consumers. Its solutions provide brand protection and supply chain functions, such as counterfeit prevention, traceability, consumer engagement solutions, and authentication for labels, packaging, and products, as well as tamper-proof labels. The PeriShip Global Solutions segment offers predictive analytics for optimizing delivery of time and temperature sensitive perishable products. This segment's products include PeriTrack customer dashboard, an integrated web portal tool gives its customers an in-depth look at their shipping activities based on real-time data. It also provides call center, pre-transit, post-delivery, and weather/traffic services. The company has a strategic partnership with INX International Ink Company. The company was formerly known as LaserLock Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to VerifyMe, Inc. in July 2015. VerifyMe, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida.

About TuSimple

TuSimple Holdings Inc., an autonomous technology company, develops autonomous technology specifically designed for semi-trucks in the United States and Asia-Pacific region. It intends to produce a line of purpose-built (Level 4) L4 autonomous semi-trucks for the North American market. The company operates its Autonomous Freight Network (AFN) L4 autonomous semi-trucks equipped with its autonomous driving technology. Its AFN is an ecosystem that consists of L4 autonomous semi-trucks, high definition digital mapped routes, terminals, and TuSimple Connect, a cloud-based autonomous operations oversight system. TuSimple Holdings Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.