Head to Head Analysis: Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ:SMSI) versus zSpace (NASDAQ:ZSPC)

zSpace (NASDAQ:ZSPC) and Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ:SMSI) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.8% of Smith Micro Software shares are held by institutional investors. 8.7% of zSpace shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 34.7% of Smith Micro Software shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for zSpace and Smith Micro Software, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
zSpace	1	2	0	0	1.67
Smith Micro Software	1	0	2	0	2.33

zSpace currently has a consensus target price of $75.00, suggesting a potential upside of 69,862.69%. Smith Micro Software has a consensus target price of $12.50, suggesting a potential upside of 386.38%. Given zSpace’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe zSpace is more favorable than Smith Micro Software.

Risk & Volatility

zSpace has a beta of -1.44, indicating that its share price is 244% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smith Micro Software has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares zSpace and Smith Micro Software’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
zSpace	-91.13%	N/A	-236.00%
Smith Micro Software	-92.60%	-44.59%	-31.78%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares zSpace and Smith Micro Software”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
zSpace	$27.86 million	0.14	-$25.39 million	($16.94)	-0.01
Smith Micro Software	$17.36 million	0.83	-$29.33 million	($3.52)	-0.73

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

Summary

Smith Micro Software beats zSpace on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About zSpace

zSpace Technologies, Inc. is a provider of commercial augmented reality and virtual reality technology principally in the education market. The Company offers differentiated hardware along with learning software modules for K-12 science, technology, engineering, game design and mathematics applications, as well as workforce-oriented career and technical education applications. zSpace Technologies Inc. is based in SAN JOSE, Calif.

About Smith Micro Software

Smith Micro Software, Inc. engages in the development and sale of software to enhance the mobile experience to wireless and cable service providers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers SafePath Family, SafePath IoT, SafePath Home, and SafePath Premium product suite, which provides tools to protect digital lifestyles and manage connected devices inside and outside the home; and CommSuite, a messaging platform that helps mobile service provides deliver a next-generation voicemail experience to mobile subscribers, as well as enables multi-language voice-to-text (VTT) transcription messaging. It also offers ViewSpot, a retail display management platform that provides on-screen and interactive demos to wireless carriers and other smartphone retailers; and technical support and customer services. Smith Micro Software, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.