Critical Comparison: NextNav (NASDAQ:NN) & Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB)

Virgin Orbit (NASDAQ:VORB – Get Rating) and NextNav (NASDAQ:NN – Get Rating) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.1% of Virgin Orbit shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.5% of NextNav shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.7% of NextNav shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Virgin Orbit and NextNav, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Virgin Orbit	0	0	2	0	3.00
NextNav	0	0	3	0	3.00

Virgin Orbit presently has a consensus target price of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 208.29%. NextNav has a consensus target price of $15.08, suggesting a potential upside of 203.49%. Given Virgin Orbit’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Virgin Orbit is more favorable than NextNav.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Virgin Orbit and NextNav’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Virgin Orbit	$7.39 million	33.58	-$157.29 million	N/A	N/A
NextNav	$760,000.00	631.39	-$144.67 million	N/A	N/A

NextNav has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Virgin Orbit.

Profitability

This table compares Virgin Orbit and NextNav’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Virgin Orbit	N/A	-193.46%	-31.68%
NextNav	N/A	-219.22%	-20.11%

Summary

NextNav beats Virgin Orbit on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

Virgin Orbit Company Profile (Get Rating)

Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. designs and develops launch solutions for small satellites. It offers launch services for national security and defense; rideshare satellite launch services; civil spaceports; and space solutions. The company is headquartered in Long Beach, California. Virgin Orbit Holdings, Inc. is a subsidiary of Vieco 10 Ltd.

NextNav Company Profile (Get Rating)

NextNav Inc. provides next generation global positioning system (GPS) and 3D geolocation services. The company delivers next generation positioning, navigation, and timing solutions through its network-based Pinnacle and TerraPoiNT solutions. Its Pinnacle 3D geolocation service is commercially available in approximately 4,400 cities and towns in the United States; and its TerraPoiNT terrestrial-based encrypted network has deployments in 51 total markets nationally. The company sells its solutions directly to customers or through partners. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.