Comparing Openlane (NYSE:OPLN) & Veralto (NYSE:VLTO)

Openlane (NYSE:OPLN) and Veralto (NYSE:VLTO) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Openlane has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veralto has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Openlane and Veralto”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Openlane	$1.93 billion	2.39	$177.70 million	($0.85)	-44.34
Veralto	$5.50 billion	4.49	$940.00 million	$3.96	25.60

Veralto has higher revenue and earnings than Openlane. Openlane is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Veralto, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.8% of Openlane shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.3% of Veralto shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Openlane shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Veralto shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Openlane and Veralto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Openlane	9.67%	12.81%	3.62%
Veralto	17.35%	34.76%	13.38%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Openlane and Veralto, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Openlane	0	3	4	0	2.57
Veralto	0	3	6	1	2.80

Openlane presently has a consensus target price of $43.83, suggesting a potential upside of 16.29%. Veralto has a consensus target price of $112.60, suggesting a potential upside of 11.06%. Given Openlane’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Openlane is more favorable than Veralto.

Summary

Veralto beats Openlane on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Openlane

OPENLANE Inc. provides sellers and buyers across the wholesale used vehicle industry with technology-driven remarketing solutions. The company’s end-to-end platform supports whole car, financing, logistics and other ancillary and related services. OPENLANE Inc., formerly known as KAR Auction Services Inc., is based in CARMEL, Ind.

About Veralto

Veralto Corporation provides water analytics, water treatment, marking and coding, and packaging and color services worldwide. It operates through two segments, Water Quality (WQ) and Product Quality & Innovation (PQI). The WQ segment offers precision instrumentation and water treatment technologies to measure, analyze, and treat water in residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, research, and natural resource applications through the Hach, Trojan Technologies, and ChemTreat brands. This segment provides water solutions, including chemical reagents, services, and digital solutions. The PQI segment offers inline printing solutions for products and packaging with marking and coding systems; marking and coding for packaged goods and related consumables; design software and imaging systems for the creation of new packaging designs; color management solutions for printed packages and consumer and industrial products; color standard services for the design industry; and a software solution that provides digital asset management, marketing resource management, and product information management. This segment sells its products and services through the Videojet, Linx, Esko, X-Rite, and Pantone brands to regulated industries, including municipal utilities, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and industrials. The company was formerly known as DH EAS Holding Corp. and changed its name to Veralto Corporation in February 2023. Veralto Corporation was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.