Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI – Get Free Report) and AmpliTech Group (NASDAQ:AMPG – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Itron and AmpliTech Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Itron | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2.69 |
| AmpliTech Group | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Itron currently has a consensus target price of $131.33, indicating a potential upside of 58.16%. AmpliTech Group has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 192.89%. Given AmpliTech Group’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe AmpliTech Group is more favorable than Itron.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
96.2% of Itron shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.0% of AmpliTech Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Itron shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.1% of AmpliTech Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility and Risk
Itron has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AmpliTech Group has a beta of -0.26, indicating that its share price is 126% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Itron and AmpliTech Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Itron | 11.90% | 19.26% | 8.40% |
| AmpliTech Group | -33.37% | -19.55% | -14.76% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Itron and AmpliTech Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Itron | $2.37 billion | 1.54 | $301.05 million | $5.99 | 13.86 |
| AmpliTech Group | $25.20 million | 2.86 | -$7.01 million | ($0.34) | -7.03 |
Itron has higher revenue and earnings than AmpliTech Group. AmpliTech Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Itron, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Itron beats AmpliTech Group on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Itron
Itron, Inc., a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products. The Networked Solutions segment provides communicating devices, such as smart meters, modules, endpoints, and sensors; network infrastructure; and associated heat-end management and application software for acquiring and transporting application-specific data. This segment also offers industrial internet of things solutions. Including automated meter reading; advanced metering infrastructure for electricity, water, and gas; distributed energy resource management; smart grid and distribution automation; smart street lighting; and leak detection and applications for gas and water systems. The Outcomes segment provides value-added, enhanced software and services, artificial intelligence, and machine learning for managing, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data to enhance decision making, maximize operational profitability, resource efficiency, grid analytics, and deliver results for consumers, utilities, and smart cities. In addition, it offers implementation, project management, installation, consulting, and post-sale maintenance support services, as well as cloud and software-as-a-service; and extended or customer-specific warranties. The company offers its products and services under the Itron brand. It serves utility and smart city customers, and municipalities through its sales force, distributors, agents, partners, and meter manufacturer representatives. Itron, Inc. was incorporated in 1977 and is headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington.
About AmpliTech Group
AmpliTech Group, Inc. designs, engineers, and assembles micro-wave component-based amplifiers. The company’s products include radio frequency (RF) amplifiers and related subsystems, such as low noise amplifiers for use in receivers of various communication systems comprising Wi-Fi, radar, satellite, base station, cell phone, radio, etc.; and medium power amplifiers that provide enhanced output power and gain in transceiver chains. It provides specialty microwave block downconverters used as a test device on satellite access point antennas; specialty microwave 1:2 Tx protection switch panels that is used in satellite communication earth stations; desktop/benchtop and compact wideband power amplifiers used in SATCOM rack mount systems, as well as test equipment used in integrators and manufacturers of various communications systems, such as cellular base stations, simulators, and point to point wireless radios; and waveguide to coaxial adapters for SATCOM and satellite internet gateway systems. In addition, the company offers cryogenic amplifiers for quantum computing, medical, RF imaging, research and development, space communications, accelerators, radiometry, and telephony applications; and cryogenic and non-cryogenic 4g/5g small cell subsystems for high-speed networks and airline Wi-Fi systems. Further, it provides custom assembly designs and non-recurring engineering services on a project-by-project basis, as well as IC packaging and lids products. The company serves aerospace, government, defense, commercial satellite, and wireless industries through sales representatives and distributors in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia. AmpliTech Group, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is based in Hauppauge, New York.
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