Head-To-Head Comparison: nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) & Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS)
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailynLight (NASDAQ:LASR – Get Free Report) and Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and profitability.
Profitability
This table compares nLight and Advanced Energy Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| nLight | -4.02% | -2.83% | -2.26% |
| Advanced Energy Industries | 10.77% | 20.75% | 10.39% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares nLight and Advanced Energy Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| nLight | $261.33 million | 9.05 | -$23.47 million | ($0.25) | -163.96 |
| Advanced Energy Industries | $1.80 billion | 6.36 | $148.40 million | $5.36 | 53.27 |
Advanced Energy Industries has higher revenue and earnings than nLight. nLight is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Advanced Energy Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for nLight and Advanced Energy Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| nLight | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2.82 |
| Advanced Energy Industries | 0 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 2.93 |
nLight presently has a consensus price target of $87.94, indicating a potential upside of 114.53%. Advanced Energy Industries has a consensus price target of $409.50, indicating a potential upside of 43.42%. Given nLight’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe nLight is more favorable than Advanced Energy Industries.
Risk and Volatility
nLight has a beta of 2.3, suggesting that its stock price is 130% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advanced Energy Industries has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
83.9% of nLight shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Advanced Energy Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of nLight shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Advanced Energy Industries shares are owned 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.
Summary
Advanced Energy Industries beats nLight on 10 of the 14 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 Advanced Energy Industries
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition. It also provides high and low voltage power products used in a range of applications, such as semiconductor equipment, industrial production, medical and life science equipment, data centers computing, networking, and telecommunications. In addition, the company supplies sensing, controls, and instrumentation products for advanced measurement and calibration of power and temperature. Further, the company provides calibration, conversions, upgrades, and refurbishments and used equipment to companies, as well as repair services. Further, it offers warranty and after-market repair services. It offers its products through a direct sales force, independent sales representatives, channel partners, and distributors. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.