Contrasting Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) and Evolv Technologies (NASDAQ:EVLV)

Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) and Evolv Technologies (NASDAQ:EVLV) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Vertiv and Evolv Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vertiv	10.67%	50.82%	14.98%
Evolv Technologies	-73.04%	-76.80%	-32.65%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Vertiv and Evolv Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vertiv	$8.01 billion	7.80	$495.80 million	$2.65	61.65
Evolv Technologies	$103.86 million	10.82	-$54.02 million	($0.55)	-11.88

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

Volatility & Risk

Vertiv has a beta of 1.87, indicating that its share price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Evolv Technologies has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.9% of Vertiv shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.7% of Evolv Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Vertiv shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of Evolv Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Vertiv and Evolv Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vertiv	1	6	20	2	2.79
Evolv Technologies	1	1	4	1	2.71

Vertiv presently has a consensus price target of $177.81, suggesting a potential upside of 8.84%. Evolv Technologies has a consensus price target of $8.88, suggesting a potential upside of 35.81%. Given Evolv Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Evolv Technologies is more favorable than Vertiv.

Summary

Vertiv beats Evolv Technologies on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vertiv

Vertiv Holdings Co, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It offers AC and DC power management products, switchgear and busbar products, thermal management products, integrated rack systems, modular solutions, and management systems for monitoring and controlling digital infrastructure that are integral to the technologies used for various services, including e-commerce, online banking, file sharing, video on-demand, energy storage, wireless communications, Internet of Things, and online gaming. The company also provides lifecycle management services, predictive analytics, and professional services for deploying, maintaining, and optimizing its products and their related systems; and preventative maintenance, acceptance testing, engineering and consulting, performance assessments, remote monitoring, training, spare parts, and digital critical infrastructure software services. It offers its products primarily under the Vertiv, Liebert, NetSure, Geist, E&I, Powerbar, and Avocent brands. The company serves cloud services, financial services, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, energy, education, government, social media, and retail industries through a network of direct sales professionals, independent sales representatives, channel partners, and original equipment manufacturers. Vertiv Holdings Co is headquartered in Westerville, Ohio.

About Evolv Technologies

Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. provides artificial intelligence (AI)-based weapons detection for security screening in the United States and internationally. Its products include Evolv Express, a touchless security screening system designed to detect firearms, improvised explosive devices, and tactical knives; and Evolv Insights that provides self-serve access, insights regarding visitor flow and arrival curves, location specific performance, system detection performance, and alarm statistics. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.