Analyzing Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) and nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR)

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) and Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.9% of nLIGHT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.8% of Himax Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.1% of nLIGHT shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 31.5% of Himax Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares nLIGHT and Himax Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
nLIGHT	-25.62%	-19.58%	-16.06%
Himax Technologies	8.42%	8.94%	4.68%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares nLIGHT and Himax Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
nLIGHT	$197.56 million	2.65	-$41.67 million	($1.02)	-10.80
Himax Technologies	$913.37 million	1.19	$50.62 million	$0.27	23.07

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

Risk & Volatility

nLIGHT has a beta of 2.35, suggesting that its share price is 135% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Himax Technologies has a beta of 2.11, suggesting that its share price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for nLIGHT and Himax Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
nLIGHT	0	0	3	0	3.00
Himax Technologies	0	0	0	0	N/A

nLIGHT presently has a consensus price target of $15.83, suggesting a potential upside of 43.68%. Given nLIGHT’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe nLIGHT is more favorable than Himax Technologies.

Summary

Himax Technologies beats nLIGHT on 8 of the 13 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 Himax Technologies

Himax Technologies, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products. The company also provides automotive IC solutions, including traditional driver ICs; advanced in-cell touch and display driver integration; large touch and display driver integration; and local dimming timing controllers, as well as active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) solutions, including AMOLED drivers, timing controllers, and touch controller ICs. In addition, it offers application specific IC services; liquid crystal on silicon and micro-electro mechanical system products; Power ICs; complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor products; wafer level optics products; 3D sensing products; and ultralow power WiseEye smart image sensing products. The company markets its display drivers to panel manufacturers, mobile device module manufacturers, and manufacturers of end-use products. Himax Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Tainan City, Taiwan.