SoundThinking (NASDAQ:SSTI – Get Free Report) and Applied DNA Sciences (NASDAQ:APDN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings and risk.
Profitability
This table compares SoundThinking and Applied DNA Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| SoundThinking | -7.39% | -10.77% | -5.67% |
| Applied DNA Sciences | -194.14% | -66.95% | -50.34% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
60.7% of SoundThinking shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.2% of Applied DNA Sciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.2% of SoundThinking shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Applied DNA Sciences shares are owned by 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.
Risk & Volatility
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for SoundThinking and Applied DNA Sciences, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| SoundThinking | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Applied DNA Sciences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
SoundThinking currently has a consensus target price of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 84.21%. Given SoundThinking’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe SoundThinking is more favorable than Applied DNA Sciences.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares SoundThinking and Applied DNA Sciences”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| SoundThinking | $102.03 million | 1.42 | -$9.18 million | ($0.61) | -18.69 |
| Applied DNA Sciences | $3.43 million | 0.54 | -$6.99 million | ($537.48) | -0.01 |
Applied DNA Sciences has lower revenue, but higher earnings than SoundThinking. SoundThinking is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Applied DNA Sciences, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
SoundThinking beats Applied DNA Sciences on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About SoundThinking
SoundThinking, Inc., a public safety technology company that provides transformative solutions and strategic advisory services for law enforcement and civic leadership. Its SafetySmart Platform, an integrated suite of data-driven tools that enable law enforcement and community violence prevention and health organizations to be efficient in public safety outcomes. It offers ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot detection system; CrimeTracer, a law enforcement search engine; CaseBuilder, an investigation management system; and ResourceRouter, a software that directs patrol and community anti-violence resources to help maximize their impact. The company sells its solutions through its direct sales teams. The company was formerly known as ShotSpotter, Inc. and changed its name to SoundThinking, Inc. in April 2023. SoundThinking, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.
About Applied DNA Sciences
Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops and commercializes technologies to produce and detect deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Therapeutic DNA Production Services; MDx Testing Services; and DNA Tagging and Security Products and Services. The Therapeutic DNA Production Services segment develops and commercializes the LinearDNA platform, which enables a cell-free manufacture of high-fidelity synthetic DNA sequences for use in nucleic acid-based therapeutics. The MDx Testing Services segment provides clinical molecular diagnostics (MDx) testing and clinical laboratory testing services; COVID-19 testing services, including test scheduling, sample collection, and automated results reporting for higher education institutions, private clients, and businesses under the safeCircle trademark; polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for production and detection of DNA and RNA; and MDx test kits and related supplies, as well as Isotopic analysis testing services. The DNA Tagging and Security Products and Services segment offers SigNature Molecular Tags, which provides a methodology to authenticate goods within large and complex supply chains for materials, such as cotton, nutraceuticals, and other products; SigNify portable DNA readers and SigNify consumable reagent test kits; and fiberTyping, which uses PCR-based DNA detection to detect a product's naturally occurring DNA sequences for the purposes of product provenance authentication and supply chain security. The company was formerly known as Datalink Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. in 2002. Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Stony Brook, New York.
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