Head to Head Survey: QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) versus WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD)

WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD) and QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) are both mid-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

29.9% of QuantumScape shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of WeRide shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of QuantumScape shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

WeRide has a beta of 4.36, suggesting that its share price is 336% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QuantumScape has a beta of 2.51, suggesting that its share price is 151% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WeRide and QuantumScape”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WeRide	$49.47 million	43.28	-$350.09 million	($0.84)	-7.87
QuantumScape	N/A	N/A	-$477.86 million	($0.76)	-9.21

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

Profitability

This table compares WeRide and QuantumScape’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WeRide	-329.54%	-24.31%	-22.06%
QuantumScape	N/A	-39.90%	-35.31%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for WeRide and QuantumScape, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WeRide	1	0	4	0	2.60
QuantumScape	3	6	0	0	1.67

WeRide currently has a consensus target price of $13.13, indicating a potential upside of 98.56%. QuantumScape has a consensus target price of $8.98, indicating a potential upside of 28.21%. Given WeRide’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe WeRide is more favorable than QuantumScape.

Summary

WeRide beats QuantumScape on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WeRide

WeRide, Inc. engages in the development of an autonomous driving technology platform. It offers Robotaxi, Robobus, Robovan, Robosweeper, and advanced driving solutions, providing smart services in online ride-hailing, on-demand transport, urban logistics, and environmental sanitation. The company was founded by Tony Xu Han and Yan Li in February 2017 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, China.

About QuantumScape

QuantumScape Corporation, a research and development stage company, focuses on the development and commercialization of solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles and other applications. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.