LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) versus NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) Head-To-Head Analysis

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for NVE and LightPath Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NVE	0	0	0	0	0.00
LightPath Technologies	0	0	2	0	3.00

LightPath Technologies has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 34.53%. Given LightPath Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe LightPath Technologies is more favorable than NVE.

Risk & Volatility

NVE has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LightPath Technologies has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.9% of NVE shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.3% of LightPath Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of NVE shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of LightPath Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NVE and LightPath Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NVE	58.88%	24.62%	24.15%
LightPath Technologies	-25.86%	-26.51%	-16.55%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NVE and LightPath Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NVE	$27.38 million	13.77	$17.12 million	$3.34	23.36
LightPath Technologies	$31.73 million	2.79	-$8.01 million	($0.22)	-10.14

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

Summary

NVE beats LightPath Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NVE

NVE Corporation develops and sells devices that use spintronics, a nanotechnology that relies on electron spin to acquire, store, and transmit information in the United States and internationally. The company manufactures spintronic products, including sensors and couplers for use in acquiring and transmitting data. Its products comprise standard sensors to detect the presence of a magnetic or metallic material to determine position, rotation, or speed for the factory automation market; and custom and medical sensors for medical devices to replace electromechanical magnetic switches. The company also offers spintronic couplers for power conversion and industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market; and DC-to-DC convertors for use in power conversion systems and industrial networks for the IIoT. In addition, it undertakes contracts for research and development, and licensing of spintronic magnetoresistive random access memory technology. NVE Corporation was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

About LightPath Technologies

LightPath Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes optical components and assemblies. The company offers precision molded glass aspheric optics, molded and diamond-turned infrared aspheric lenses, and other optical components used to produce products that manipulate light; and infrared products, including catalog and custom infrared optics. Its products are used in defense products, medical devices, laser aided industrial tools, automotive safety applications, barcode scanners, optical data storage, hybrid fiber coax datacom, telecommunications, machine vision and sensors, and other sectors. The company sells its products directly to customers in Europe and Asia. LightPath Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.