Critical Comparison: 908 Devices (MASS) and Its Rivals

908 Devices (NASDAQ:MASS) is one of 377 publicly-traded companies in the “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare 908 Devices to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

908 Devices has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 908 Devices’ peers have a beta of -0.31, indicating that their average share price is 131% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.1% of 908 Devices shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.5% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are owned by institutional investors. 28.2% of 908 Devices shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.2% of shares of all “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares 908 Devices and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
908 Devices	-56.96%	-12.54%	-8.87%
908 Devices Competitors	-158.15%	-25.72%	-6.85%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for 908 Devices and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
908 Devices	1	0	3	0	2.50
908 Devices Competitors	2047	7590	10398	655	2.47

908 Devices presently has a consensus target price of $12.83, suggesting a potential upside of 14.07%. As a group, “Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components” companies have a potential upside of 35.84%. Given 908 Devices’ peers higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe 908 Devices has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares 908 Devices and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
908 Devices	$56.20 million	$19.49 million	-11.84
908 Devices Competitors	$4.13 billion	$172.92 million	5.63

908 Devices’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than 908 Devices. 908 Devices is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

908 Devices beats its peers on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

908 Devices Company Profile

908 Devices Inc., a commercial-stage technology company, provides various purpose-built handheld and desktop mass spectrometry devices to interrogate unknown and invisible materials in life sciences research, bioprocessing, pharma/biopharma, forensics, and adjacent markets. The company's products include MX908, a handheld, battery-powered, and Mass Spec device that is designed for rapid analysis of solid, liquid, vapor, and aerosol materials of unknown identity; Rebel, a small desktop analyzer that provides real-time information on the extracellular environment in bioprocesses; and Maverick, an optical in-line analyzer that offers real-time monitoring and control of multiple bioprocess parameters, including glucose, lactate, and total biomass in mammalian cell cultures, as well as provides process fingerprint data to support large-scale efforts in predictive bioprocess modeling. Its products also comprise Maven and Trace C2, an online device for bioprocess monitoring and control; and ZipChip solution, a plug-and-play, high-resolution separation platform that optimizes Mass Spec sample analysis. The company operates in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and rest of the Americas. 908 Devices Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.