Head to Head Survey: ClearOne (NASDAQ:CLRO) & Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX)

ClearOne (NASDAQ:CLRO) and Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ClearOne and Cognex”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ClearOne	$11.39 million	0.99	-$26.08 million	($1.15)	-3.67
Cognex	$1.13 billion	7.53	$114.44 million	$1.43	35.23

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

Risk and Volatility

ClearOne has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cognex has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ClearOne and Cognex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ClearOne	N/A	-209.91%	-118.38%
Cognex	21.50%	16.24%	12.05%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

9.6% of ClearOne shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Cognex shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of ClearOne shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Cognex shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for ClearOne and Cognex, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ClearOne	1	0	0	0	1.00
Cognex	0	7	10	1	2.67

Cognex has a consensus target price of $71.50, suggesting a potential upside of 41.93%. Given Cognex’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cognex is more favorable than ClearOne.

Summary

Cognex beats ClearOne on 15 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ClearOne

ClearOne, Inc. develops and sells audio and visual communications solutions for conferencing, collaboration, streaming and other professional communication applications. Its products are designed for businesses, educational institutions, government organizations and other organizations that need to support in-person, remote and hybrid interactions. The company’s product portfolio includes conference microphones, speakers, audio processors, mixers, video conferencing equipment, collaboration systems and related software.

About Cognex

Cognex Corporation develops machine vision products that help businesses automate the inspection, identification and measurement of manufactured goods and packages. Its offerings include vision systems, barcode readers, vision sensors and software that analyze images captured during production and logistics operations. The company’s technology is used in industries such as automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and logistics. Applications include checking product quality, guiding robots and reading codes on items moving through manufacturing and distribution facilities.