Financial Review: Vasta Platform (NASDAQ:VSTA) versus Amprius Technologies (NYSE:AMPX)

Vasta Platform (NASDAQ:VSTA) and Amprius Technologies (NYSE:AMPX) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.8% of Vasta Platform shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.0% of Amprius Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Vasta Platform shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Amprius Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vasta Platform and Amprius Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vasta Platform	$310.48 million	1.29	$90.19 million	$1.02	4.91
Amprius Technologies	$57.81 million	20.77	-$44.67 million	($0.26)	-35.39

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

Profitability

This table compares Vasta Platform and Amprius Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vasta Platform	27.31%	1.53%	1.06%
Amprius Technologies	-53.16%	-38.85%	-23.93%

Risk and Volatility

Vasta Platform has a beta of -0.29, suggesting that its share price is 129% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amprius Technologies has a beta of 3.04, suggesting that its share price is 204% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Vasta Platform and Amprius Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vasta Platform	1	1	0	0	1.50
Amprius Technologies	1	0	8	0	2.78

Amprius Technologies has a consensus price target of $14.57, suggesting a potential upside of 58.35%. Given Amprius Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amprius Technologies is more favorable than Vasta Platform.

Summary

Vasta Platform beats Amprius Technologies on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vasta Platform

Vasta Platform Limited provides educational printed and digital solutions to private schools operating in the K-12 education sector in Brazil. The company offers digital and printed textbooks, teacher handbooks, exercise books, multidisciplinary subject books, and student evaluations; and PAR platform that allows schools to select their preferred books and materials and follow their own specific teaching methods. It also provides traditional learning systems under the Anglo, Pitágoras, Rede Cristã de Educação, Maxi Ético, Fibonacci, Mackenzie, and Amplia brands; ongoing training for educators; and services to partner schools, including consulting services for school management and the organization of events, and a proprietary and differentiated evaluation system for partner schools and their students. In addition, the company offers Plurall that provides a digital learning experience and allows for tailor-made adjustments for each school; Plurall Maestro that develops digital solutions to help educators in planning and conducting classes; PROFS, a teacher training program; O Líder em Mim, a program with content, methodology, teaching material, and training to develop leadership; English Stars, an English educational platform; EduAll, a bilingual program to enhance its current solutions; Plurall Olímpico, a content for scientific competitions; MindMakers to develop leadership, collaboration, and persistence through multidisciplinary problem-solving exercises; Matific that provides interactive learning environments and adaptable worksheets; Plurall Store; Plurall Adapta for adaptive learning sessions; Plurall MeuProf to connect students with professors for private tutoring; Prepara to prepare students for external assessments; Leader in Me to develop socio-emotional competencies of K12 students; Education Systems, a structured teaching system for K12 students and teachers; and Prepara ENEM. Vasta Platform Limited was founded in 1966 and is based in São Paulo, Brazil.

About Amprius Technologies

Amprius Technologies, Inc. produces and sells ultra-high energy density lithium-ion batteries for mobility applications. The company offers silicon nanowire anode batteries. Its batteries are primarily used for existing and emerging aviation applications, including unmanned aerial systems, such as drones and high-altitude pseudo satellites. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.