Head-To-Head Comparison: Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) versus Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Kulicke and Soffa Industries (NASDAQ:KLIC) and Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) are both technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Kulicke and Soffa Industries and Amtech Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	0	2	2	1	2.80
Amtech Systems	0	3	1	0	2.25

Kulicke and Soffa Industries presently has a consensus price target of $69.67, indicating a potential downside of 12.31%. Amtech Systems has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 61.65%. Given Amtech Systems’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Amtech Systems is more favorable than Kulicke and Soffa Industries.

Volatility and Risk

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has a beta of 1.62, meaning that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amtech Systems has a beta of 2.01, meaning that its stock price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.2% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.2% of Amtech Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Kulicke and Soffa Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 26.9% of Amtech Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Kulicke and Soffa Industries and Amtech Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	12.18%	14.39%	10.41%
Amtech Systems	4.90%	6.33%	4.00%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kulicke and Soffa Industries and Amtech Systems”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kulicke and Soffa Industries	$654.08 million	6.36	$210,000.00	$2.17	36.61
Amtech Systems	$79.36 million	3.00	-$30.33 million	$0.26	52.35

Kulicke and Soffa Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Amtech Systems. Kulicke and Soffa Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amtech Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Kulicke and Soffa Industries beats Amtech Systems on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kulicke and Soffa Industries

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices. It operates through four segments: Ball Bonding Equipment, Wedge Bonding Equipment, Advanced Solutions, and Aftermarket Products and Services (APS). The company offers ball bonding equipment, wafer level bonding equipment, wedge bonding equipment; and advanced display, die-attach, and thermocompression systems and solutions, as well as tools, spares and services for equipment. It also services, maintains, repairs, and upgrades equipment. The company serves semiconductor device manufacturers, integrated device manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers, other electronics manufacturers, industrial manufacturers, foundry service providers, and automotive electronics suppliers primarily in the United States and the Asia/Pacific region. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.

About Amtech Systems

Amtech Systems, Inc. manufactures and sells capital equipment and related consumables for use in fabricating silicon carbide (SiC), silicon power devices, analog and discrete devices, electronic assemblies, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) worldwide. The company operates through Semiconductor and Material and Substrate segments. The Semiconductor segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services thermal processing equipment, including solder reflow ovens, horizontal diffusion furnaces, and custom high-temp belt furnaces for use by semiconductor, electronics, and electro/mechanical assembly manufacturers; and diffusion and reflow thermal systems, as well as wafer cleaning equipment and related services. The Material and Substrate segment manufactures and sells consumables and machinery for lapping and polishing of materials, such as silicon wafers for semiconductor products; sapphire substrates for LED lighting and mobile devices; silicon carbide wafers for LED and power device applications; various glass and silica components for 3D image transmission; quartz and ceramic components for telecommunications devices; and medical device components, and optical and photonics applications. It also offers substrate products comprising of double-sided wafer cleaning system, entegrity head tester, substrate carrier, substrate polishing templates, double-sided lapping and polishing machines, single-sided polisher, and substrate process chemicals. The company sells its products through sales personnel, as well as a network of independent sales representatives and distributors. Amtech Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.