VeriSign (VRSN) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer VRSN or SE?

In the previous week, SEA had 3 more articles in the media than VeriSign. MarketBeat recorded 21 mentions for SEA and 18 mentions for VeriSign. VeriSign's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat SEA's score of 1.08 indicating that VeriSign is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
VeriSign	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
SEA	19 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals 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 large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, 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	17.29	$785.70M	$8.18	35.07
SEA	$16.82B	5.22	$444.32M	$1.42	104.95

Which has more risk & volatility, VRSN or SE?

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

Do analysts rate VRSN or SE?

VeriSign presently has a consensus price target of $277.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.26%. SEA has a consensus price target of $153.17, indicating a potential upside of 2.78%. 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)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93

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%

Summary

VeriSign beats SEA on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.