Astrotech (ASTC) and Its Competitors Head-To-Head Review

Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC) is one of 377 publicly-traded companies in the “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Astrotech to similar companies based on the strength of its risk, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Astrotech and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astrotech	$913,000.00	-$14.43 million	-0.57
Astrotech Competitors	$114.91 billion	$166.60 million	0.28

Astrotech’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Astrotech. Astrotech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility and Risk

Astrotech has a beta of 4.91, indicating that its stock price is 391% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astrotech’s competitors have a beta of -0.32, indicating that their average stock price is 132% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Astrotech and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astrotech	1	0	0	0	1.00
Astrotech Competitors	2047	7587	10394	653	2.47

As a group, “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies have a potential upside of 35.99%. Given Astrotech’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Astrotech has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.4% of Astrotech shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.3% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are held by institutional investors. 16.8% of Astrotech shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Astrotech and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astrotech	-1,578.34%	-91.69%	-72.48%
Astrotech Competitors	-158.15%	-25.72%	-6.85%

Summary

Astrotech competitors beat Astrotech on 11 of the 13 factors compared.

Astrotech Company Profile

Astrotech Corporation operates as a mass spectrometry company worldwide. It owns and licenses the intellectual property related to the Astrotech Mass Spectrometer Technology, a platform mass spectrometry technology. The company also develops TRACER 1000, a mass spectrometer-based explosive trace detector to replace the explosives trace detectors used at airports, cargo and other secured facilities, and borders. In addition, it develops AgLAB-1000, a mass spectrometer for use in the hemp and cannabis market. Further, the company develops BreathTest-1000, a breath analysis tool to screen for volatile organic compound metabolites found in a person's breath. The company was formerly known as SPACEHAB, Inc. and changed its name to Astrotech Corporation in 2009. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Austin, Texas.