Contrasting nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) and Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC)

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) and Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares nLight and Lattice Semiconductor”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
nLight	$261.33 million	12.52	-$23.47 million	($0.47)	-124.77
Lattice Semiconductor	$523.26 million	22.35	$3.08 million	$0.02	4,274.50

Lattice Semiconductor has higher revenue and earnings than nLight. nLight is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lattice Semiconductor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.9% of nLight shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.1% of Lattice Semiconductor shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of nLight shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Lattice Semiconductor shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares nLight and Lattice Semiconductor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
nLight	-8.98%	-9.28%	-6.77%
Lattice Semiconductor	0.59%	5.60%	4.69%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for nLight and Lattice Semiconductor, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
nLight	1	1	8	1	2.82
Lattice Semiconductor	1	0	13	1	2.93

nLight presently has a consensus target price of $58.31, suggesting a potential downside of 0.56%. Lattice Semiconductor has a consensus target price of $102.64, suggesting a potential upside of 20.06%. Given Lattice Semiconductor’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lattice Semiconductor is more favorable than nLight.

Volatility & Risk

nLight has a beta of 2.27, suggesting that its share price is 127% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lattice Semiconductor has a beta of 1.64, suggesting that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lattice Semiconductor beats nLight on 12 of the 14 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 Lattice Semiconductor

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops and sells semiconductor products in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The company offers field programmable gate arrays that consist of four product families, including the Lattice Certus and ECP, Mach, iCE, and CrossLink. It also provides video connectivity application specific standard products. In addition, the company licenses its technology portfolio through standard IP and IP core licensing, patent monetization, and IP services. It sells its products directly to customers, and indirectly through a network of independent manufacturers' representatives and independent distributors. The company primarily serves original equipment manufacturers in the communications and computing, consumer, and industrial, and automotive markets. Lattice Semiconductor Corporation was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.