Head to Head Analysis: SCI Engineered Materials (OTCMKTS:SCIA) and Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) and SCI Engineered Materials (OTCMKTS:SCIA) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nova and SCI Engineered Materials”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nova	$852.72 million	10.01	$183.76 million	$7.65	37.95
SCI Engineered Materials	$22.87 million	0.94	$1.86 million	$0.35	13.46

Nova has higher revenue and earnings than SCI Engineered Materials. SCI Engineered Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nova, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Nova and SCI Engineered Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nova	29.10%	24.36%	16.66%
SCI Engineered Materials	9.13%	11.23%	9.05%

Volatility and Risk

Nova has a beta of 1.79, suggesting that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SCI Engineered Materials has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Nova and SCI Engineered Materials, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nova	0	2	5	0	2.71
SCI Engineered Materials	0	0	0	0	0.00

Nova presently has a consensus target price of $307.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.75%. Given Nova’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Nova is more favorable than SCI Engineered Materials.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.0% of Nova shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.6% of SCI Engineered Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Nova shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.7% of SCI Engineered Materials shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Nova beats SCI Engineered Materials on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging. The company serves various sectors of the integrated circuit manufacturing industry, including logic, foundries, and memory manufacturers, as well as process equipment manufacturers. Nova Ltd. was formerly known as Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. and changed its name to Nova Ltd. in July 2021. Nova Ltd. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.

About SCI Engineered Materials

SCI Engineered Materials, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of materials for physical vapor deposition thin film applications in the United States. It offers ceramic targets, metal sputtering targets, and backing plates for use in semiconductors, thin film solar, flat panel displays, defense, aerospace, and photonics industries. The company’s materials are used to produce nano layers of metals and oxides for advanced material systems; and in applying decorative coatings for end uses, such as sink faucets to produce various electronic, photonic, and semiconductor products. It serves domestic and multi-national corporations, universities, and research institutions. The company was formerly known as Superconductive Components, Inc. and changed its name to SCI Engineered Materials, Inc. in 2007. SCI Engineered Materials, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.