Comparing Datasea (NASDAQ:DTSS) & AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF)

Datasea (NASDAQ:DTSS) and AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.1% of Datasea shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of AppFolio shares are held by institutional investors. 50.6% of Datasea shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of AppFolio shares are held 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 breakdown of recent ratings for Datasea and AppFolio, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Datasea	1	0	0	0	1.00
AppFolio	0	3	9	0	2.75

AppFolio has a consensus price target of $250.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.18%. Given AppFolio’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe AppFolio is more favorable than Datasea.

Volatility & Risk

Datasea has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AppFolio has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Datasea and AppFolio”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Datasea	$40.70 million	0.15	-$2.19 million	($0.32)	-1.80
AppFolio	$950.82 million	8.38	$140.92 million	$4.74	47.44

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

Profitability

This table compares Datasea and AppFolio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Datasea	N/A	N/A	N/A
AppFolio	15.62%	33.56%	27.03%

Summary

AppFolio beats Datasea on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Datasea

Datasea Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides technology and information systems in the People's Republic of China. The company provides smart city solutions and 5G messaging applications. It also offers its smart security solutions primarily to schools, tourist or scenic attractions, and public communities. In addition, the company provides intelligent acoustics products, which include ultrasonic air sterilizer, air purification and deodorization, and other products. The company was formerly known as Rose Rock, Inc. and changed its name to Datasea Inc. in October 2015. Datasea Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

About AppFolio

AppFolio, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud business management solutions for the real estate industry in the United States. The company provides a cloud-based platform that enables users to automate and optimize common workflows; tools that assist with leasing, maintenance, and accounting; and other technology and services offered by third parties. It offers AppFolio Property Manager Core, a platform that provides the basic functionalities required to operate a property management business, as well as serves as a system of record; AppFolio Property Manager Plus, which offers housing management, student housing management, complex accounting, leasing insights, large-scale operations support, role-based permissions, stack integrations, and enhanced customer support services; AppFolio Property Manager Max offers customer relationship management functionality, field customization, customer database functionality, and customer success management services; and AppFolio Investment Manager, a software that provides investment management, asset management, and relationship management solutions. The company also provides value-added services that are designed to enhance, automate, and streamline processes and workflows for property management businesses, such as electronic payment, tenant screening, and insurance services. AppFolio, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.