Financial Analysis: Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) & Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ:MANH)

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) and Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ:MANH) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.1% of Simulations Plus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Manhattan Associates shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.4% of Simulations Plus shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Manhattan Associates shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Simulations Plus has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Manhattan Associates has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Simulations Plus and Manhattan Associates’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Simulations Plus	-78.63%	11.62%	10.84%
Manhattan Associates	20.91%	82.91%	31.38%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Simulations Plus and Manhattan Associates”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Simulations Plus	$70.01 million	4.33	$9.95 million	($3.15)	-4.78
Manhattan Associates	$1.04 billion	12.54	$218.36 million	$3.58	60.36

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Simulations Plus and Manhattan Associates, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Simulations Plus	0	3	4	0	2.57
Manhattan Associates	1	3	6	0	2.50

Simulations Plus currently has a consensus price target of $26.50, indicating a potential upside of 76.08%. Manhattan Associates has a consensus price target of $216.67, indicating a potential upside of 0.26%. Given Simulations Plus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Simulations Plus is more favorable than Manhattan Associates.

Summary

Manhattan Associates beats Simulations Plus on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc. develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products. The company also provides products based on mechanistic and mathematical models, such as DILIsym, NAFLDsym, ILDsym, RENAsym, IPFsym, and MITOsym products. In addition, it offers Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity Predictor for chemistry-based computer program that takes molecular structures as inputs and predicts their properties; and MedChem Designer, as well as MonolixSuite products for modeling and simulation that allows for population analyses, rapid clinical trial data analyses, and regulatory submissions. Further, the company provides clinical-pharmacology-based consulting services, which includes population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling, exposure-response analyses, clinical trial simulations, data programming, and technical writing services in support of regulatory submissions; and early drug discovery services. Additionally, it offers creative and insightful consulting services to support its quantitative systems pharmacology/quantitative systems toxicology modelling. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrochemical, cosmetics, and food industry companies, as well as academic and regulatory agencies. Simulations Plus, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Lancaster, California.

About Manhattan Associates

Manhattan Associates, Inc. develops, sells, deploys, services, and maintains software solutions to manage supply chains, inventory, and omni-channel operations. It offers Warehouse Management Solution for managing goods and information across the distribution centers; Manhattan Active Warehouse Management, a cloud native and version less application for the associate; and Transportation Management Solution for helping shippers navigate their way through the demands and meet customer service expectations at the lowest possible freight costs; Manhattan SCALE, a portfolio of logistics execution solution; and Manhattan Active Omni, which offers order management, store inventory and fulfillment, POS, and customer engagement tools for enterprises and stores. The company also provides inventory optimization and allocation solutions; technology platform including Manhattan Active Platform solutions, a cloud-native product designed to provide version-less product access; maintenance services, which offers on-premises software licensees with software upgrades for additional or improved functionality and technological advances; and professional services, such as solutions planning and implementation, and related consulting services. In addition, it provides training and change management services; and resells computer hardware, radio frequency terminal networks, radio frequency identification chip readers, bar code printers and scanners, and other peripherals. The company offers products through direct sales personnel and partnership agreements with various organizations. It serves retail, consumer goods, food and grocery, logistics service providers, industrial and wholesale, high technology and electronics, life sciences, and government industries. The company operates in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Manhattan Associates, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.