Comparing LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) & Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) and LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) are both technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.5% of Plexus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.3% of LightPath Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Plexus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.8% of LightPath Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Plexus and LightPath Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Plexus	4.03%	12.46%	5.57%
LightPath Technologies	-28.65%	-7.02%	-4.13%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Plexus and LightPath Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Plexus	0	0	7	1	3.12
LightPath Technologies	1	0	4	1	2.83

Plexus presently has a consensus price target of $276.86, suggesting a potential upside of 24.98%. LightPath Technologies has a consensus price target of $14.10, suggesting a potential upside of 98.59%. Given LightPath Technologies’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe LightPath Technologies is more favorable than Plexus.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Plexus and LightPath Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Plexus	$4.03 billion	1.47	$172.88 million	$6.78	32.67
LightPath Technologies	$71.72 million	6.93	-$20.55 million	($0.40)	-17.75

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

Risk and Volatility

Plexus has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LightPath Technologies has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Plexus beats LightPath Technologies on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Plexus

Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin.

About LightPath Technologies

LightPath Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes optical components and assemblies. The company offers precision molded glass aspheric optics, molded and diamond-turned infrared aspheric lenses, and other optical components used to produce products that manipulate light; and infrared products, including catalog and custom infrared optics. Its products are used in defense products, medical devices, laser aided industrial tools, automotive safety applications, barcode scanners, optical data storage, hybrid fiber coax datacom, telecommunications, machine vision and sensors, and other sectors. The company sells its products directly to customers in Europe and Asia. LightPath Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.