Head to Head Comparison: Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR) vs. Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI)

Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI) and Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR) are both technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Hesai Group and Research Frontiers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hesai Group	0	1	2	1	3.00
Research Frontiers	1	0	0	0	1.00

Hesai Group currently has a consensus price target of $23.50, suggesting a potential upside of 47.34%. Given Hesai Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Hesai Group is more favorable than Research Frontiers.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

48.5% of Hesai Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.9% of Research Frontiers shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Research Frontiers shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Hesai Group and Research Frontiers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hesai Group	14.77%	5.52%	4.47%
Research Frontiers	-344.56%	-168.54%	-85.08%

Volatility and Risk

Hesai Group has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Research Frontiers has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hesai Group and Research Frontiers”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hesai Group	$432.94 million	5.16	$62.33 million	$0.41	38.90
Research Frontiers	$1.12 million	22.87	-$2.05 million	($0.07)	-10.50

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

Summary

Hesai Group beats Research Frontiers on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hesai Group

Hesai Group, through with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of three-dimensional light detection and ranging solutions (LiDAR). Its LiDAR products are used in passenger and commercial vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems; autonomous passenger and freight mobility services; and other applications, such as delivery robots, street sweeping robots, and logistics robots in restricted areas. Hesai Group was founded in 2014 and is based in Shanghai, China.

About Research Frontiers

Research Frontiers Incorporated engages in the development and marketing of technology and devices to control the flow of light worldwide. It develops and licenses suspended particle device (SPD-Smart) light-control technology to companies that manufacture and market the SPD-Smart chemical emulsion, light-control film made from the chemical emulsion, the light-control panels made by laminating the film, and electronics to power end-products incorporating the film, as well as lamination services for and the end-products, such as windows, skylights, and sunroofs. The company's SPD-Smart light-control technology is used in various product applications, including windows, sunshades, skylights, and interior partitions for homes and buildings; automotive windows, sunroofs, sun-visors, sunshades, rear-view mirrors, instrument panels, and navigation systems; aircraft windows; museum display panels, and eyewear products; and flat panel displays for electronic products. It serves architectural, automotive, marine, and aerospace and appliance applications. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Woodbury, New York.