Analyzing Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV) and Evolv Technologies (NASDAQ:EVLV)

Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV) and Evolv Technologies (NASDAQ:EVLV) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Serve Robotics has a beta of 2.26, suggesting that its share price is 126% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Evolv Technologies has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its share price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Serve Robotics and Evolv Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Serve Robotics	-3,821.98%	-38.54%	-36.93%
Evolv Technologies	-22.71%	-30.45%	-11.58%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

66.7% of Evolv Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Serve Robotics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of Evolv Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Serve Robotics and Evolv Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Serve Robotics	1	0	5	2	3.00
Evolv Technologies	1	1	3	1	2.67

Serve Robotics currently has a consensus target price of $18.60, suggesting a potential upside of 94.36%. Evolv Technologies has a consensus target price of $9.13, suggesting a potential upside of 40.82%. Given Serve Robotics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Serve Robotics is more favorable than Evolv Technologies.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Serve Robotics and Evolv Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Serve Robotics	$2.65 million	273.34	-$101.36 million	($1.59)	-6.02
Evolv Technologies	$145.90 million	7.97	-$33.14 million	($0.21)	-30.86

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

Summary

Evolv Technologies beats Serve Robotics on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Serve Robotics

Serve Robotics Inc. designs, develops, and operates low-emission robots that serve people in public spaces with food delivery in the United States. It builds self-driving delivery robots. The company was formerly known as Patricia Acquisition Corp. and changed its name to Serve Robotics Inc. in July 2023. Serve Robotics Inc. was founded in 2017 and is based in Redwood City, California.

About Evolv Technologies

Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. provides artificial intelligence (AI)-based weapons detection for security screening in the United States and internationally. Its products include Evolv Express, a touchless security screening system designed to detect firearms, improvised explosive devices, and tactical knives; and Evolv Insights that provides self-serve access, insights regarding visitor flow and arrival curves, location specific performance, system detection performance, and alarm statistics. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.