NOVONIX (NASDAQ:NVX) versus Polar Power (NASDAQ:POLA) Critical Comparison

Polar Power (NASDAQ:POLA) and NOVONIX (NASDAQ:NVX) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.1% of Polar Power shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of NOVONIX shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.5% of Polar Power shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 23.7% of NOVONIX shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Polar Power and NOVONIX, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Polar Power	0	0	0	0	0.00
NOVONIX	0	0	1	0	3.00

NOVONIX has a consensus price target of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 86.92%. Given NOVONIX’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NOVONIX is more favorable than Polar Power.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Polar Power and NOVONIX”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Polar Power	$11.95 million	0.69	-$6.55 million	($0.47)	-1.00
NOVONIX	$8.06 million	32.77	-$46.25 million	N/A	N/A

Polar Power has higher revenue and earnings than NOVONIX.

Risk and Volatility

Polar Power has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NOVONIX has a beta of 2.97, suggesting that its share price is 197% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Polar Power and NOVONIX’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Polar Power	-55.56%	-52.52%	-26.64%
NOVONIX	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

NOVONIX beats Polar Power on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Polar Power

Polar Power, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells direct current (DC) power generators, renewable energy, and cooling systems in the United States and internationally. The company offers DC base power systems, DC hybrid power systems, DC solar hybrid power systems, and mobile power systems. Its DC power systems are available in diesel, natural gas, LPG/propane, and renewable fuel formats. It serves customers in the telecommunications, military, commercial, industrial, and marine markets. In addition, the company sells its products through a direct sales force, and independent service providers and dealers. The company was formerly known as Polar Products, Inc. and changed its name to Polar Power, Inc. in October 1991. Polar Power, Inc. was incorporated in 1979 and is based in Gardena, California.

About NOVONIX

NOVONIX Limited provides battery materials and development technology for battery manufacturers, materials companies, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and consumer electronics manufacturers in North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. It operates through Battery Materials and Battery Technology segments. The Battery Materials segment develops and manufactures battery anode materials. The Battery Technology segment develops battery cell testing equipment, performs consulting services, and carries out research and development in battery development. The company is involved in the investment and real estate borrowing activities; and offers battery technology, battery testing hardware equipment, and battery testing and development consulting services. The company was formerly known as Graphitecorp Limited and changed its name to NOVONIX Limited in July 2017. NOVONIX Limited was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Brisbane, Australia.