Contrasting Eltek (NASDAQ:ELTK) and 908 Devices (NASDAQ:MASS)

Eltek (NASDAQ:ELTK) and 908 Devices (NASDAQ:MASS) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Eltek and 908 Devices, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eltek	1	0	0	0	1.00
908 Devices	1	0	2	0	2.33

908 Devices has a consensus price target of $12.50, suggesting a potential upside of 17.04%. Given 908 Devices’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe 908 Devices is more favorable than Eltek.

Risk and Volatility

Eltek has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 908 Devices has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.6% of Eltek shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of 908 Devices shares are owned by institutional investors. 72.0% of Eltek shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.2% of 908 Devices shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Eltek and 908 Devices’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eltek	-12.66%	-13.57%	-9.01%
908 Devices	-56.96%	-12.54%	-8.87%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Eltek and 908 Devices”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eltek	$51.79 million	1.04	$830,000.00	($0.91)	-8.85
908 Devices	$56.20 million	7.85	$19.49 million	($0.95)	-11.24

908 Devices has higher revenue and earnings than Eltek. 908 Devices is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eltek, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

908 Devices beats Eltek on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eltek

Eltek Ltd. manufactures, markets, and sells printed circuit boards (PCBs) in Israel, Europe, North America, India, the Netherlands, and internationally. It offers a range of custom designed PCBs, including rigid, double-sided and multi-layer PCBs, and flexible circuitry boards. The company also provides high density interconnect, flex-rigid, and multi-layered boards. It primarily serves medical technology, defense and aerospace, industrial, telecom, and networking equipment industries, as well as contract electronic manufacturers. The company markets and sells its products primarily through direct sales personnel, sales representatives, and PCB trading and manufacturing companies. Eltek Ltd. was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel. Eltek Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Nistec Golan Ltd.

About 908 Devices

908 Devices Inc., a commercial-stage technology company, provides various purpose-built handheld and desktop mass spectrometry devices to interrogate unknown and invisible materials in life sciences research, bioprocessing, pharma/biopharma, forensics, and adjacent markets. The company's products include MX908, a handheld, battery-powered, and Mass Spec device that is designed for rapid analysis of solid, liquid, vapor, and aerosol materials of unknown identity; Rebel, a small desktop analyzer that provides real-time information on the extracellular environment in bioprocesses; and Maverick, an optical in-line analyzer that offers real-time monitoring and control of multiple bioprocess parameters, including glucose, lactate, and total biomass in mammalian cell cultures, as well as provides process fingerprint data to support large-scale efforts in predictive bioprocess modeling. Its products also comprise Maven and Trace C2, an online device for bioprocess monitoring and control; and ZipChip solution, a plug-and-play, high-resolution separation platform that optimizes Mass Spec sample analysis. The company operates in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and rest of the Americas. 908 Devices Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.