nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) and Solar Enertech (OTCMKTS:SOEN) Critical Comparison

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) and Solar Enertech (OTCMKTS:SOEN) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for nLIGHT and Solar Enertech, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
nLIGHT	0	0	3	0	3.00
Solar Enertech	0	0	0	0	0.00

nLIGHT presently has a consensus target price of $16.17, suggesting a potential upside of 57.57%. Given nLIGHT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe nLIGHT is more favorable than Solar Enertech.

Profitability

This table compares nLIGHT and Solar Enertech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
nLIGHT	-24.16%	-19.53%	-15.91%
Solar Enertech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares nLIGHT and Solar Enertech”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
nLIGHT	$209.92 million	2.37	-$41.67 million	($1.03)	-9.96
Solar Enertech	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Solar Enertech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than nLIGHT.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.9% of nLIGHT shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.1% of nLIGHT shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

nLIGHT has a beta of 2.33, indicating that its stock price is 133% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Solar Enertech has a beta of 55.06, indicating that its stock price is 5,406% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

nLIGHT beats Solar Enertech on 6 of the 10 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 Solar Enertech

Solar EnerTech Corp. operates as a photovoltaic (PV) solar energy cell manufacturing company. Its principal products include monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon solar cells and modules. The company’s solar cells convert sunlight to electricity through the PV effect. It also designs and produces advanced PV modules for various applications, such as standard panels for solar power stations, roof panels, solar arrays, and modules incorporated directly into exterior walls. The company markets its products primarily to solar panel installers, who incorporate those modules into their power generating systems that are sold to end-customers located in Europe, Australia, North America, and China. It markets its solar cells and modules under the SolarE brand name. The company was formerly known as Safer Residence Corporation and changed its name to Solar EnerTech Corp. in April 2006. Solar EnerTech Corp. was incorporated in 2004 is headquartered in Mountain View, California.