Critical Analysis: Draganfly (NASDAQ:DPRO) & Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA)

Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) and Draganfly (NASDAQ:DPRO) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Coda Octopus Group and Draganfly, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coda Octopus Group	0	1	2	0	2.67
Draganfly	1	0	3	1	2.80

Coda Octopus Group presently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 36.20%. Draganfly has a consensus price target of $11.62, suggesting a potential upside of 154.65%. Given Draganfly’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Draganfly is more favorable than Coda Octopus Group.

Risk & Volatility

Coda Octopus Group has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Draganfly has a beta of 2.91, meaning that its stock price is 191% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Coda Octopus Group and Draganfly’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coda Octopus Group	17.64%	8.32%	7.58%
Draganfly	-355.34%	-26.61%	-25.42%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.1% of Coda Octopus Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.4% of Draganfly shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.5% of Coda Octopus Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Coda Octopus Group and Draganfly”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coda Octopus Group	$26.56 million	4.37	$4.13 million	$0.44	23.36
Draganfly	$5.53 million	28.38	-$16.45 million	($0.78)	-5.85

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

Summary

Coda Octopus Group beats Draganfly on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coda Octopus Group

Coda Octopus Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, sells, and rentals underwater technologies and equipment for real time 3D imaging, mapping, defense, and survey applications in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through two segments, Marine Engineering Business and Marine Technology Business. The company's solutions include geophysical systems; GNSS-aided navigation systems (attitude and positioning systems); real time volumetric imaging sonar products; and diver augmented vision display systems. It also offers GeoSurvey, a software and hardware package for acquisition and processing of sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data in oil and gas companies; DA4G, a geophysical hardware; and Survey Engine, a software product that provides post-processing solutions for sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data. In addition, the company offers 3D/4D/5D/6D imaging sonar technology under the Echoscope and Echoscope PIPE name; diving technology under the CodaOctopus DAVD; and operates as a sub-contractor for defense contractors, as well as supplies sub-assemblies for broader mission critical defense systems. It markets and sells its technology solutions for the subsea and underwater markets. Coda Octopus Group, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About Draganfly

Draganfly Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells cutting-edge unmanned and remote data collection and analysis platforms and systems in the United States and Canada. The company offers quadcopters, fixed-wing aircraft, ground-based robots, handheld controllers, and flight training, as well as software used for tracking, live streaming, and data collection. It also operates a health/telehealth platform that is a set of technologies that remotely detect various biometrics, such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure. In addition, the company provides sanitary spraying services to indoor and outdoor public gathering spaces, including sport stadiums and fields, and custom engineering, training, consulting, flight, and geographic information systems data services. It serves public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections, and mapping and surveying markets. Draganfly Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.