Analyzing Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) & Applied Visual Sciences (OTCMKTS:APVS)

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) and Applied Visual Sciences (OTCMKTS:APVS) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mercury Systems and Applied Visual Sciences”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mercury Systems	$912.02 million	6.49	-$37.90 million	($0.24)	-410.63
Applied Visual Sciences	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Applied Visual Sciences has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mercury Systems.

Risk and Volatility

Mercury Systems has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Visual Sciences has a beta of 6.98, indicating that its stock price is 598% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Mercury Systems and Applied Visual Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mercury Systems	-1.46%	2.22%	1.32%
Applied Visual Sciences	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Mercury Systems and Applied Visual Sciences, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mercury Systems	2	3	3	2	2.50
Applied Visual Sciences	0	0	0	0	0.00

Mercury Systems currently has a consensus price target of $89.89, suggesting a potential downside of 8.79%. Given Applied Visual Sciences’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Visual Sciences is more favorable than Mercury Systems.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.0% of Mercury Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Mercury Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 33.0% of Applied Visual Sciences shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Mercury Systems beats Applied Visual Sciences on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mercury Systems

Mercury Systems, Inc., a technology company, manufactures and sells components, products, modules, and subsystems for aerospace and defense industries in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Its products and solutions are deployed in approximately 300 programs with 25 defense contractors and commercial aviation customers. The company offers components, including power amplifiers and limiters, switches, oscillators, filters, equalizers, digital and analog converters, chips, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, and memory and storage devices; modules and sub-assemblies, such as embedded processing boards, switched fabrics and boards, digital receivers, multi-chip modules, integrated radio frequency and microwave multi-function assemblies, tuners, and transceivers, as well as graphics and video boards; and integrated subsystems. It also designs and develops digital radio frequency memory units for various modern electronic warfare applications; radar environment simulation and test systems for defense and intelligence applications; and signals intelligence payloads and EO/IR technologies for small UAV platforms, as well as onboard UAV processor systems for real-time wide area motion imagery. The company was formerly known as Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Mercury Systems, Inc. in November 2012. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.

About Applied Visual Sciences

Applied Visual Sciences, Inc., a software technology company, designs and develops computer-vision detection solutions based on image processing science for aviation/homeland security and healthcare markets. It utilizes imaging technologies and analytics to create integrated information management technology products and services that address problems for corporations and governmental agencies. The company offers PinPoint, an intelligent computer-vision automated target recognition technology for the detection of guns, explosives, and other threat items contained in baggage in the airport environment or for building security applications; and Signature Mapping platform technology for use in the imaging field of diagnostic radiology and pathology. It also provides Signature Mapping Detection System, an automated hardware-software laboratory solution used to operate various infectious disease applications through multi-threaded detection algorithms. In addition, the company offers Signature Mapping Tuberculosis Detection software, an automated hardware and software technology platform; and Signature Mapping Breast Cancer Detection, a breast cancer detection solution. Applied Visual Sciences, Inc. markets its products through direct sales and indirect distribution channels worldwide. The company was formerly known as Guardian Technologies International, Inc. and changed its name to Applied Visual Sciences, Inc. in July 2010. Applied Visual Sciences, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is based in Leesburg, Virginia.