Critical Contrast: Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER) versus Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)

Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) and Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Virgin Galactic has a beta of 1.98, meaning that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridger Aerospace Group has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

46.6% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.9% of Bridger Aerospace Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of Bridger Aerospace Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Virgin Galactic and Bridger Aerospace Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Virgin Galactic	2	3	1	0	1.83
Bridger Aerospace Group	1	0	1	0	2.00

Virgin Galactic presently has a consensus target price of $4.33, suggesting a potential upside of 37.96%. Bridger Aerospace Group has a consensus target price of $5.25, suggesting a potential upside of 179.26%. Given Bridger Aerospace Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Bridger Aerospace Group is more favorable than Virgin Galactic.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Virgin Galactic and Bridger Aerospace Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Virgin Galactic	$7.04 million	25.65	-$346.74 million	($7.47)	-0.42
Bridger Aerospace Group	$98.61 million	1.06	-$15.57 million	($0.52)	-3.62

Bridger Aerospace Group has higher revenue and earnings than Virgin Galactic. Bridger Aerospace Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Virgin Galactic, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Virgin Galactic and Bridger Aerospace Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Virgin Galactic	-17,615.71%	-108.00%	-32.35%
Bridger Aerospace Group	4.96%	-1.91%	2.23%

Summary

Bridger Aerospace Group beats Virgin Galactic on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., an aerospace and space travel company, focuses on the development, manufacture, and operation of spaceships and related technologies. The company engages in the design and development, manufacturing, ground and flight testing, spaceflight operation, and post-flight maintenance of spaceflight systems for private individuals, researchers, and government agencies. Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Tustin, California.

About Bridger Aerospace Group

Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. provides aerial wildfire management, relief and suppression, and firefighting services to federal and state government agencies in the United States. It offers fire suppression services, such as direct fire suppression aerial firefighting support services for ground crew to drop large amounts of water quickly and directly on wildfires. The company also provides aerial surveillance services, including fire suppression aircraft over an incident and tactical coordination with the incident commander through its manned and unmanned aircraft. It operates an aircraft fleet of 18 planes. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Belgrade, Montana.