Critical Review: Solar Thin Films (OTCMKTS:SLTZ) versus Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI)

Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI) and Solar Thin Films (OTCMKTS:SLTZ) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Ascent Solar Technologies and Solar Thin Films, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascent Solar Technologies	1	1	1	0	2.00
Solar Thin Films	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ascent Solar Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 196.30%. Given Ascent Solar Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Ascent Solar Technologies is more favorable than Solar Thin Films.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ascent Solar Technologies and Solar Thin Films”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Solar Technologies	$113,093.00	564.74	-$7.83 million	($2.46)	-2.74
Solar Thin Films	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Solar Thin Films has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ascent Solar Technologies.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

10.6% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.0% of Solar Thin Films shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ascent Solar Technologies and Solar Thin Films’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Solar Technologies	-7,311.40%	-127.37%	-86.27%
Solar Thin Films	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Ascent Solar Technologies beats Solar Thin Films on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ascent Solar Technologies

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a solar technology company, engages in the manufacture and sale of photovoltaic solar modules in the United States. The company markets and sells its products through OEMs, system integrators, distributors, retailers, and value-added resellers. It serves agrivoltaics, aerospace, satellites, near earth orbiting vehicles, and fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.

About Solar Thin Films

Solar Thin Films, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and installs thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic manufacturing equipment used in plants that produce photovoltaic thin-film a-Si solar panels or modules. The company serves businesses and investment partnerships engaged in the production of photovoltaic thin-film modules; and corporations and governments involved in the construction of solar power plants principally in the United States, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and Asia. Solar Thin Films, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in New York, New York.