Head to Head Survey: ADT (NYSE:ADT) vs. SoundThinking (NASDAQ:SSTI)

SoundThinking (NASDAQ:SSTI) and ADT (NYSE:ADT) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Volatility & Risk

SoundThinking has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ADT has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SoundThinking and ADT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SoundThinking	$104.13 million	0.81	-$9.42 million	($0.74)	-8.85
ADT	$5.13 billion	1.05	$595.95 million	$0.66	9.92

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

Profitability

This table compares SoundThinking and ADT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SoundThinking	-9.05%	-12.73%	-6.97%
ADT	11.60%	19.16%	4.43%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for SoundThinking and ADT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SoundThinking	1	3	3	0	2.29
ADT	1	4	2	0	2.14

SoundThinking currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 113.74%. ADT has a consensus target price of $8.38, suggesting a potential upside of 28.04%. Given SoundThinking’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe SoundThinking is more favorable than ADT.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.7% of SoundThinking shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.2% of ADT shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of SoundThinking shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of ADT shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

ADT beats SoundThinking on 9 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 ADT

ADT Inc. provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems. It primarily offers security designed to detect intrusion, control access, sense movement, smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, flooding, temperature, and other environmental conditions and hazards; and address personal medical emergencies, such as injuries or unanticipated falls. The company also provides automation and smart home solutions that allow customers to use their smart phones, smart phone application, or touchscreen panels in their homes to arm and disarm their security systems; record and view real-time video; and creates customized and automated schedules for connected devices; programs systems to react to defined events; integrates system with third-party connected devices, such as cameras, lights, thermostats, appliances, and garage doors, as well as offers monitoring and maintenance services. In addition, the company offers energy storage solutions, energy efficiency upgrades, and roofing services. It offers its products under the ADT, ADT Pulse, ADT+, and ADT Commercial brand names. The company was formerly known as Prime Security Services Parent, Inc. and changed its name to ADT Inc. in September 2017. ADT Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.