Financial Contrast: Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) and Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSAT)

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) and Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSAT) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

41.7% of Planet Labs PBC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.9% of Globalstar shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.9% of Planet Labs PBC shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 60.8% of Globalstar shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Planet Labs PBC and Globalstar, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Planet Labs PBC	0	1	9	0	2.90
Globalstar	0	0	0	0	0.00

Planet Labs PBC currently has a consensus target price of $6.71, suggesting a potential upside of 8.49%. Given Planet Labs PBC’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Planet Labs PBC is more favorable than Globalstar.

Profitability

This table compares Planet Labs PBC and Globalstar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Planet Labs PBC	-42.58%	-23.36%	-16.51%
Globalstar	-29.65%	-8.96%	-2.51%

Risk & Volatility

Planet Labs PBC has a beta of 1.8, suggesting that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Globalstar has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Planet Labs PBC and Globalstar”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Planet Labs PBC	$250.18 million	7.50	-$123.20 million	($0.36)	-17.18
Globalstar	$250.35 million	13.90	-$63.16 million	($0.73)	-37.67

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

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC engages in the design, construction, and launch constellations of satellites with the intent of providing high cadence geospatial data delivered to customers through an online platform worldwide. The company’s platform offers planet monitoring, basemap, tasking, apps, and application programming interfaces, as well as analytics and planetary variables. It serves agriculture, mapping, energy, forestry, finance and insurance companies, and government agencies. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Globalstar

Globalstar, Inc. provides mobile satellite services worldwide. The company offers duplex two-way voice and data products, including mobile voice and data satellite communications services and equipment for remote business continuity, recreational usage, safety, emergency preparedness and response, and other applications; fixed voice and data satellite communications services and equipment at industrial, commercial, and residential sites, as well as rural villages and ships; and data modem services and equipment. It also provides SPOT consumer retail products, such as SPOT satellite GPS messenger for personal tracking, emergency location, and messaging solutions; and SPOT Trace, an anti-theft and asset tracking device. In addition, the company offers commercial Internet of Things one-way transmission products to track cargo containers and rail cars, as well as to monitor utility meters, and oil and gas assets. Further, it sells wholesale minutes to independent gateway operators (IGOs); and provides engineering services, such as hardware and software designs to develop specific applications; and installation of gateways and antennas. The company distributes its products directly, as well as through independent agents, dealers and resellers, retailers, IGOs, and sales force and e-commerce Website. As of December 31, 2020, it had approximately 745,000 subscribers. The company primarily serves recreation and personal, government, public safety and disaster relief, oil and gas, maritime and fishing, construction, utilities, and transportation, as well as natural resources, mining, and forestry markets. Globalstar, Inc. has a strategic alliance with XCOM Labs to jointly commercialize XCOM’s capacity-multiplying technology with Globalstar’s Band n53 for 5G deployments in the United States and other countries where Globalstar has terrestrial rights. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana.