Reviewing Knightscope (NASDAQ:KSCP) & VU1 (OTCMKTS:VUOC)

Knightscope (NASDAQ:KSCP) and VU1 (OTCMKTS:VUOC) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Knightscope and VU1″s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Knightscope	$11.01 million	5.12	-$22.12 million	($13.58)	-1.19
VU1	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

VU1 has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Knightscope.

Profitability

This table compares Knightscope and VU1’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Knightscope	-284.42%	N/A	-129.83%
VU1	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

14.6% of Knightscope shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.4% of Knightscope shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Knightscope and VU1, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Knightscope	0	0	1	0	3.00
VU1	0	0	0	0	0.00

Knightscope currently has a consensus target price of $200.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,135.33%. Given Knightscope’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Knightscope is more favorable than VU1.

Summary

Knightscope beats VU1 on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Knightscope

Knightscope, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, markets, deploys, and supports autonomous security robots (ASR) in the United States. Its products include K3 and K5 ASRs designed to roam a geo-fenced area autonomously by utilizing numerous sensors and lasers, either on a random basis or based on a particular patrolling algorithm to navigate around people, vehicles, and objects in dynamic indoor or outdoor environments; K1, an ASR for used in indoors or outdoors and at ingress/egress points for both people and vehicles; and K7, a multi-terrain ASR. The company also develops and operates the Knightscope security operations center (KSOC), a browser-based interface, which allows real-time data access service to its clients for alert of an abnormal event; and Knightscope network operations center (KNOC), a custom set of tools that enables it to manage and monitor the network of ASRs with alerts related to critical indicators and statistics, including charging, software, navigation, and temperatures, as well as to execute over-the-air software upgrades, patches, and other related items. In addition, it offers Knightscope+, a virtual monitoring and response solution that provides an alternative for client sites. The company serves airports, commercial real estate, corporate campus, homeowner associations, hotels, universities, municipalities, rail, healthcare, public parks, schools, casinos, corporations, logistics, manufacturing, law enforcement, Parking areas, municipalities, universities, and property management companies, as well as the U.S. federal government. Knightscope, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

About VU1

Vu1 Corp. designs, develops and sells mercury-free lighting products using its proprietary Electron Stimulated Luminescence (ESL) technology. It’s ESL lights use a form of cathode-ray tube technology in which accelerated electrons stimulate phosphor to create light, making the surface of lights glow in a highly energy-efficient manner and with a warm natural light. The company was founded on August 30, 1996 and is headquartered in New York, NY.