VeriSign (VRSN) Competitors

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) and SEA (NYSE:SE) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership and earnings.

Which has better valuation & earnings, VRSN or SE?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VeriSign	$1.56B	17.36	$785.70M	$8.18	35.20
SEA	$16.82B	5.43	$444.32M	$1.42	109.09

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in VRSN or SE?

92.9% of VeriSign shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.5% of SEA shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of VeriSign shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of SEA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer VRSN or SE?

VeriSign currently has a consensus target price of $277.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.62%. SEA has a consensus target price of $159.82, indicating a potential upside of 3.17%. Given SEA's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe SEA is more favorable than VeriSign.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VeriSign	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.33
SEA	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.92

Does the media refer more to VRSN or SE?

In the previous week, VeriSign had 5 more articles in the media than SEA. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for VeriSign and 19 mentions for SEA. VeriSign's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat SEA's score of 1.05 indicating that VeriSign is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
VeriSign	20 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
SEA	14 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is VRSN or SE more profitable?

VeriSign has a net margin of 50.23% compared to SEA's net margin of 4.87%. SEA's return on equity of 10.74% beat VeriSign's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VeriSign	50.23%	-41.37%	54.37%
SEA	4.87%	10.74%	3.98%

Which has more volatility and risk, VRSN or SE?

VeriSign has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SEA has a beta of 1.6, suggesting that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

VeriSign beats SEA on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.