Comparing GCT Semiconductor (NYSE:GCTS) & Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ)

GCT Semiconductor (NYSE:GCTS) and Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

GCT Semiconductor has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Solar has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.1% of GCT Semiconductor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Canadian Solar shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of GCT Semiconductor shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.5% of Canadian Solar shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares GCT Semiconductor and Canadian Solar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GCT Semiconductor	N/A	N/A	-27.58%
Canadian Solar	2.80%	5.61%	1.73%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares GCT Semiconductor and Canadian Solar’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GCT Semiconductor	$16.03 million	10.85	-$2.00 million	N/A	N/A
Canadian Solar	$7.24 billion	0.13	$274.19 million	$2.88	5.11

Canadian Solar has higher revenue and earnings than GCT Semiconductor.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for GCT Semiconductor and Canadian Solar, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GCT Semiconductor	0	0	0	0	N/A
Canadian Solar	2	4	4	0	2.20

Canadian Solar has a consensus price target of $27.03, suggesting a potential upside of 83.74%. Given Canadian Solar’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Canadian Solar is more favorable than GCT Semiconductor.

Summary

Canadian Solar beats GCT Semiconductor on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GCT Semiconductor

GCT Semiconductor Holding, Inc., operates as a fabless semiconductor company, designs, develops, and markets integrated circuits for the wireless semiconductor industry. The company provides RF and modem chipsets based on 4G LTE technology, including 4G LTE, 4.5G LTE Advanced, and 4.75G LTE Advanced-Pro. It also develops and sells cellular IoT chipsets for low-speed mobile networks such as eMTC/NB-IOT/Sigfox, and other network protocols; and 5G solutions. Its products and solutions are used in smartphones, tablets, hotspots, CPEs, USB dongles, routers, and M2M applications. The company sells its products directly or indirectly through distributors to original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers primarily in Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan, Europe, North America and South America. The company was formerly known as Global Communication Technology, Inc. GCT Semiconductor Holding, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products. It offers standard solar modules and battery storage solutions; solar system kits, such as inverters, racking systems, and other accessories; power electronic products; and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, as well as operates battery energy storage projects. The Recurrent Energy segment engages in the development, construction, maintenance, and sale of solar power and battery storage projects; and operation of solar power plants; and sale of electricity. This segment provides operation and maintenance (O&M) services, including monitoring, inspections, repair, and replacement of plant equipment; and site management and administrative support services for solar projects, as well as asset management services. It has a fleet of solar and battery energy storage plants in operation with an aggregate capacity of approximately 1,005 MWp and 600 MWh. It serves distributors, system integrators, project developers, and installers/EPC companies, as well as utility companies or grid operators, public utilities, licensed suppliers, corporate offtakers, and commercial, industrial or government end users. It sells its products primarily under its Canadian Solar brand name. Canadian Solar Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Guelph, Canada.