Analyzing Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) & Autoscope Technologies (NASDAQ:AATC)

Autoscope Technologies (NASDAQ:AATC) and Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Autoscope Technologies and Plexus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autoscope Technologies	37.59%	27.06%	23.97%
Plexus	4.03%	12.46%	5.57%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.4% of Plexus shares are held by institutional investors. 21.6% of Autoscope Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Plexus shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Autoscope Technologies and Plexus, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autoscope Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
Plexus	0	1	6	0	2.86

Plexus has a consensus target price of $273.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.37%. Given Plexus’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Plexus is more favorable than Autoscope Technologies.

Risk & Volatility

Autoscope Technologies has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Plexus has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Autoscope Technologies and Plexus”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autoscope Technologies	$8.93 million	3.43	$6.62 million	$0.25	22.20
Plexus	$4.60 billion	1.61	$172.88 million	$6.78	40.82

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

Summary

Plexus beats Autoscope Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Autoscope Technologies

Autoscope Technologies Corporation develops and markets video and radar processing products for use in intersection control, highway, bridge and tunnel traffic management, and traffic data collection applications in the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. It operates in two segments, Intersection and Highway. The company provides Autoscope video systems that process video input from a traffic scene in real time and extracts the traffic data, including vehicle presence, bicycle presence/differentiation, counts, speed, length, time occupancy, turning movements, and flow rate; and RTMS radar systems that use radar to measure vehicle presence, volume, occupancy, speed, and classification information for roadway monitoring applications. It also offers IntellitraffiQ software that provides traffic measurement and data collection across large and small areas. The company markets and sells its products to end users comprising federal, state, city, and county departments of transportation, port, highway, tunnel, and other transportation authorities, as well as system integrators or other suppliers of systems and services who are operating under subcontracts in connection with road construction contracts. Autoscope Technologies Corporation was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Plexus

Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin.