VeriSign (VRSN) Competitors

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

Which has more risk and volatility, SE or VRSN?

SEA has a beta of 1.58, indicating that its share price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, VeriSign has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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

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

Does the media refer more to SE or VRSN?

In the previous week, SEA had 3 more articles in the media than VeriSign. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for SEA and 23 mentions for VeriSign. VeriSign's average media sentiment score of 1.29 beat SEA's score of 0.99 indicating that VeriSign is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
SEA	18 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
VeriSign	18 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is SE or VRSN more profitable?

VeriSign has a net margin of 50.05% 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
SEA	4.87%	10.74%	3.98%
VeriSign	50.05%	-40.87%	55.90%

Which has better valuation and earnings, SE or VRSN?

VeriSign has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
SEA	$16.82B	6.12	$444.32M	$1.42	123.00
VeriSign	$1.56B	15.98	$785.70M	$8.38	31.79

Do analysts rate SE or VRSN?

SEA presently has a consensus price target of $159.82, indicating a potential downside of 8.50%. VeriSign has a consensus price target of $277.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.16%. Given VeriSign's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe VeriSign is more favorable than SEA.

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

Summary

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