nLight (NASDAQ:LASR – Get Free Report) and Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ:NVTS – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.
Profitability
This table compares nLight and Navitas Semiconductor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| nLight | -19.13% | -17.11% | -12.81% |
| Navitas Semiconductor | -220.85% | -14.86% | -13.13% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
83.9% of nLight shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.1% of Navitas Semiconductor shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.1% of nLight shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 29.9% of Navitas Semiconductor shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| nLight | $198.55 million | 10.63 | -$60.79 million | ($0.88) | -47.24 |
| Navitas Semiconductor | $83.30 million | 28.86 | -$84.60 million | ($0.64) | -16.30 |
nLight has higher revenue and earnings than Navitas Semiconductor. nLight is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Navitas Semiconductor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for nLight and Navitas Semiconductor, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| nLight | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2.80 |
| Navitas Semiconductor | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
nLight currently has a consensus target price of $34.29, suggesting a potential downside of 17.52%. Navitas Semiconductor has a consensus target price of $6.48, suggesting a potential downside of 37.84%. Given nLight’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe nLight is more favorable than Navitas Semiconductor.
Risk & Volatility
nLight has a beta of 2.33, meaning that its stock price is 133% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Navitas Semiconductor has a beta of 3.16, meaning that its stock price is 216% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
nLight beats Navitas Semiconductor on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About nLight
nLIGHT, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial and aerospace and defense applications. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications. It sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, China, South Korea, and European countries, as well as through independent sales representatives and distributors in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. The company was formerly known as nLight Photonics Corporation and changed its name to nLIGHT, Inc. in January 2016. nLIGHT, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Camas, Washington.
About Navitas Semiconductor
Navitas Semiconductor Corporation designs, develops, and markets gallium nitride power integrated circuits, silicon carbide, associated high-speed silicon system controllers, and digital isolators used in power conversion and charging. The company’s products are used in mobile, consumer, data center, solar, electric vehicle, industrial motor drive, smart grid, and transportation applications. It operates in the United States, Europe, China, rest of Asia, and internationally. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Torrance, California.
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