Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) versus BlackSky Technology (NYSE:BKSY) Critical Comparison

BlackSky Technology (NYSE:BKSY) and Leidos (NYSE:LDOS) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for BlackSky Technology and Leidos, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BlackSky Technology	1	1	2	1	2.60
Leidos	0	10	6	1	2.47

BlackSky Technology presently has a consensus price target of $39.33, indicating a potential upside of 70.50%. Leidos has a consensus price target of $162.93, indicating a potential upside of 15.78%. Given BlackSky Technology’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe BlackSky Technology is more favorable than Leidos.

Profitability

This table compares BlackSky Technology and Leidos’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BlackSky Technology	-61.24%	-51.24%	-14.80%
Leidos	7.80%	30.81%	10.78%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BlackSky Technology and Leidos”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BlackSky Technology	$106.57 million	8.86	-$70.26 million	($1.82)	-12.68
Leidos	$17.17 billion	1.03	$1.45 billion	$10.72	13.13

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

Risk and Volatility

BlackSky Technology has a beta of 2.61, meaning that its stock price is 161% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Leidos has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

27.1% of BlackSky Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of Leidos shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of BlackSky Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Leidos shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Leidos beats BlackSky Technology on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BlackSky Technology

BlackSky Technology Inc. provides geospatial intelligence, imagery and related data analytic products and services, and mission systems that include the development, integration, and operation of satellite and ground systems for government and commercial customers in North America, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company's Spectra software platform processes a range of observations from its satellite constellation and various external data sources, including imaging, radar and radio frequency satellites, environmental sensors, asset tracking sensors, Internet-of-Things (IoT) connected devices, internet-enabled narrative sources, and a variety of geotemporal data feeds. It offers a range of services related to object, change and anomaly detection, site monitoring, and enhanced analytics, which helps to detect key pattern of life changes in critical locations, including strategic locations and infrastructure comprising ports, airports, and construction sites; retail activity; commodities stockpiles; and other sites that contain critical commodities and supply chain inventory. In addition, the company develops and delivers satellites and payload systems; and provides professional and engineering services. Its products and services are used in national security, supply chain intelligence, crisis management, critical infrastructure monitoring, economic intelligence, and other applications. BlackSky Technology Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S. Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, the space development agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, defense information systems agency, military services, and government agencies of U.S. allies abroad, as well as other federal and commercial customers in the national security industry. The solutions include technology, large-scale systems, command and control platforms, data analytics, logistics, and cybersecurity solutions, as well as intelligence analysis and operations support services to critical missions. The Civil segment provides systems integration services to air navigation service providers, including the federal aviation administration, the En route automation modernization, advanced technology oceanic procedure, time based flow management, terminal flight data management, geo-7, and future flight services, as well as enterprise-information display systems; and security detection services. It also offers information technology (IT) solutions in cloud computing, mobility, application modernization, DevOps, data center, network modernization, asset management, help desk operations, and digital workplace enablement; and environment, energy, and infrastructure services. The Health segment offers solutions to federal and commercial customers responsible for health and well-being of people, include health information management, managed health, digital modernization, and life sciences research and development services. Leidos Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.