Head to Head Contrast: Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) vs. nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.8% of Himax Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.9% of nLIGHT shares are held by institutional investors. 31.5% of Himax Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of nLIGHT shares are held by company 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.

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

nLIGHT has a consensus price target of $15.83, indicating a potential upside of 40.74%. Given nLIGHT’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe nLIGHT is more favorable than Himax Technologies.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Himax Technologies	$913.37 million	1.19	$50.62 million	$0.27	23.04
nLIGHT	$197.56 million	2.71	-$41.67 million	($1.02)	-11.03

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.

Profitability

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

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

Volatility and Risk

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

Summary

Himax Technologies beats nLIGHT on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.