Contrasting Golden Sun Health Technology Group (NASDAQ:GSUN) and Vasta Platform (NASDAQ:VSTA)

Vasta Platform (NASDAQ:VSTA) and Golden Sun Health Technology Group (NASDAQ:GSUN) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vasta Platform and Golden Sun Health Technology Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vasta Platform	$297.72 million	0.79	-$16.78 million	($0.14)	-20.78
Golden Sun Health Technology Group	$6.16 million	2.27	-$5.79 million	N/A	N/A

Golden Sun Health Technology Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Vasta Platform.

Profitability

This table compares Vasta Platform and Golden Sun Health Technology Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vasta Platform	-3.90%	1.84%	1.12%
Golden Sun Health Technology Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

15.8% of Vasta Platform shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Golden Sun Health Technology Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Vasta Platform shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 38.9% of Golden Sun Health Technology Group shares are owned 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.

Volatility and Risk

Vasta Platform has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Golden Sun Health Technology Group has a beta of 2.29, suggesting that its share price is 129% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Vasta Platform and Golden Sun Health Technology Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vasta Platform	1	0	1	0	2.00
Golden Sun Health Technology Group	0	0	0	0	N/A

Vasta Platform currently has a consensus price target of $4.50, indicating a potential upside of 54.64%. Given Vasta Platform’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Vasta Platform is more favorable than Golden Sun Health Technology Group.

Summary

Vasta Platform beats Golden Sun Health Technology Group on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vasta Platform

Vasta Platform Limited provides educational printed and digital solutions to private schools operating in the K-12 education sector in Brazil. The company offers digital and printed textbooks, teacher handbooks, exercise books, multidisciplinary subject books, and student evaluations; and PAR platform that allows schools to select their preferred books and materials and follow their own specific teaching methods. It also provides traditional learning systems under the Anglo, Pitágoras, Rede Cristã de Educação, Maxi Ético, Fibonacci, Mackenzie, and Amplia brands; ongoing training for educators; and services to partner schools, including consulting services for school management and the organization of events, and a proprietary and differentiated evaluation system for partner schools and their students. In addition, the company offers Plurall that provides a digital learning experience and allows for tailor-made adjustments for each school; Plurall Maestro that develops digital solutions to help educators in planning and conducting classes; PROFS, a teacher training program; O Líder em Mim, a program with content, methodology, teaching material, and training to develop leadership; English Stars, an English educational platform; EduAll, a bilingual program to enhance its current solutions; Plurall Olímpico, a content for scientific competitions; MindMakers to develop leadership, collaboration, and persistence through multidisciplinary problem-solving exercises; Matific that provides interactive learning environments and adaptable worksheets; Plurall Store; Plurall Adapta for adaptive learning sessions; Plurall MeuProf to connect students with professors for private tutoring; Prepara to prepare students for external assessments; Leader in Me to develop socio-emotional competencies of K12 students; Education Systems, a structured teaching system for K12 students and teachers; and Prepara ENEM. Vasta Platform Limited was founded in 1966 and is based in São Paulo, Brazil.

About Golden Sun Health Technology Group

Golden Sun Health Technology Group Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides education and management services in the People's Republic of China. The company offers foreign language tutorial services; and TOEFL, IELTS, and school and college entrance examination training, as well as other education training management services. It also provides minor language purchase service courses; and develops an artificial intelligent teaching platform. In addition, the company offers educational management and consulting services, including branding, safety management, teacher training, supervision and evaluation, rating guidance services to the kindergartens. Further, it operates tutorial centers in Wenzhou city, Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province, and Shanghai City in China. The company was formerly known as Golden Sun Education Group Limited and changed its name to Golden Sun Education Group Limited in February 2024. Golden Sun Health Technology Group Limited was founded in 1997 and is based in Shanghai, China.