Data Storage (NASDAQ:DTST) vs. AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) Head to Head Contrast

Data Storage (NASDAQ:DTST) and AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) are both communication services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Data Storage and AST SpaceMobile, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Data Storage	1	0	0	0	1.00
AST SpaceMobile	2	5	6	0	2.31

AST SpaceMobile has a consensus price target of $86.58, indicating a potential upside of 51.79%. Given AST SpaceMobile’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe AST SpaceMobile is more favorable than Data Storage.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Data Storage and AST SpaceMobile”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Data Storage	$1.38 million	5.71	$19.20 million	($0.76)	-4.43
AST SpaceMobile	$70.92 million	313.00	-$341.94 million	($2.14)	-26.65

Data Storage has higher earnings, but lower revenue than AST SpaceMobile. AST SpaceMobile is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Data Storage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Data Storage has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AST SpaceMobile has a beta of 2.72, indicating that its stock price is 172% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Data Storage and AST SpaceMobile’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Data Storage	1,247.09%	-5.48%	-4.86%
AST SpaceMobile	-536.66%	-22.88%	-10.67%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.6% of Data Storage shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.0% of AST SpaceMobile shares are held by institutional investors. 21.2% of Data Storage shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.9% of AST SpaceMobile shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Data Storage

Data Storage Corporation provides data management and cloud solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers a suite of multi-cloud IT solutions, including cyber security solutions, which comprise ezSecurity, a security solution for endpoint security, system assessments, and risk analysis, as well as IBM system protection, including Ransomware defense. The company also provides data protection and recovery solutions, such as ezVault for offsite data protection; ezRecovery for fast data recovery; ezAvailability for real-time data replication with minimal recovery objectives; and ezMirror for data mirroring at the storage level. In addition, it offers cloud hosted production systems comprising ezHost, which delivers managed cloud services; and voice and data solutions, including Nexxis, which specializes in voice over internet protocol, internet access, and data transport solutions, which comprise dedicated internet services, SD-WAN options, and a cloud-based PBX solution. The company offers its solutions and services to businesses in healthcare, banking and finance, distribution services, manufacturing, construction, education, and government industries. Data Storage Corporation was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

About AST SpaceMobile

AST SpaceMobile, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops and provides access to a space-based cellular broadband network for smartphones in the United States. Its SpaceMobile service provides cellular broadband services to end-users who are out of terrestrial cellular coverage. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.