Contrasting American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) & Color Star Technology (NASDAQ:ADD)

American Public Education (NASDAQ:APEI) and Color Star Technology (NASDAQ:ADD) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for American Public Education and Color Star Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Public Education	0	1	2	0	2.67
Color Star Technology	0	0	0	0	N/A

American Public Education presently has a consensus price target of $15.67, indicating a potential upside of 14.44%. Given American Public Education’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe American Public Education is more favorable than Color Star Technology.

Profitability

This table compares American Public Education and Color Star Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Public Education	-7.87%	3.26%	1.48%
Color Star Technology	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.6% of American Public Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.4% of Color Star Technology shares are held by institutional investors. 11.4% of American Public Education shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 38.9% of Color Star Technology shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Public Education and Color Star Technology’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Public Education	$600.54 million	0.40	-$47.29 million	($2.94)	-4.66
Color Star Technology	$16.52 million	0.21	-$37.85 million	N/A	N/A

Color Star Technology has lower revenue, but higher earnings than American Public Education.

Risk & Volatility

American Public Education has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Color Star Technology has a beta of 1.99, indicating that its stock price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

American Public Education beats Color Star Technology on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Public Education

American Public Education, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides online and campus-based postsecondary education and career learning in the United States. It operates through three segments: American Public University System, Rasmussen University, and Hondros College of Nursing. The company offers 184 degree programs and 134 certificate programs in various fields of study, including nursing, national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, business, health science, information technology, justice studies, education, and liberal arts; and career learning opportunities in leadership, finance, human resources, and other fields of study critical to the federal government workforce. It also provides nursing-and health sciences-focused postsecondary education, pre-licensure nursing programs, diploma in practical nursing, and an associate degree in nursing. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia.

About Color Star Technology

Color Star Technology Co., Ltd., an entertainment and education company, provides online entertainment performances and music education services in the United States and China. The company operates Color World, an online platform of curriculum that includes music, sports, animation, painting and calligraphy, film and television, life skills, etc. Its Color World platform provides celebrity lectures, celebrity concert videos, celebrity peripheral products, and artist interactive communication services. The company was formerly known as Huitao Technology Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Color Star Technology Co., Ltd. in May 2020. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in New York, New York.