SemiLEDS (NASDAQ:LEDS – Get Free Report) and Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS – Get Free Report) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for SemiLEDS and Amtech Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| SemiLEDS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Amtech Systems | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
Amtech Systems has a consensus target price of $22.00, suggesting a potential upside of 70.93%. Given Amtech Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amtech Systems is more favorable than SemiLEDS.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
76.3% of SemiLEDS shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.2% of Amtech Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 58.5% of SemiLEDS shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 26.9% of Amtech Systems shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares SemiLEDS and Amtech Systems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| SemiLEDS | $43.01 million | 0.39 | -$1.13 million | ($0.13) | -15.58 |
| Amtech Systems | $79.36 million | 2.84 | -$30.33 million | $0.26 | 49.50 |
SemiLEDS has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Amtech Systems. SemiLEDS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amtech Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
SemiLEDS has a beta of 1.57, indicating that its stock price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amtech Systems has a beta of 2.04, indicating that its stock price is 104% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares SemiLEDS and Amtech Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| SemiLEDS | -3.92% | -43.09% | -6.39% |
| Amtech Systems | 4.90% | 6.33% | 4.00% |
Summary
Amtech Systems beats SemiLEDS on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About SemiLEDS
SemiLEDs Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells light emitting diode (LED) chips, LED components, and LED modules and systems in the United States, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and internationally. The company also sells enhanced vertical, LED product series in blue, white, green, and UV; LED chips to packagers or distributors; and lighting products primarily to original design manufacturers of lighting products and the end-users of lighting devices, as well as packs and sells its LED chips. Its products are used for general lighting applications, including commercial, industrial, and residential lighting; and specialty industrial applications, such as ultraviolet or UV, curing of polymers, LED light therapy in medical/cosmetic applications, counterfeit detection, germicidal and viricidal devices LED lighting for horticulture applications, architectural lighting, and entertainment lighting. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Chu-Nan, Taiwan.
About Amtech Systems
Amtech Systems, Inc. manufactures and sells capital equipment and related consumables for use in fabricating silicon carbide (SiC), silicon power devices, analog and discrete devices, electronic assemblies, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) worldwide. The company operates through Semiconductor and Material and Substrate segments. The Semiconductor segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services thermal processing equipment, including solder reflow ovens, horizontal diffusion furnaces, and custom high-temp belt furnaces for use by semiconductor, electronics, and electro/mechanical assembly manufacturers; and diffusion and reflow thermal systems, as well as wafer cleaning equipment and related services. The Material and Substrate segment manufactures and sells consumables and machinery for lapping and polishing of materials, such as silicon wafers for semiconductor products; sapphire substrates for LED lighting and mobile devices; silicon carbide wafers for LED and power device applications; various glass and silica components for 3D image transmission; quartz and ceramic components for telecommunications devices; and medical device components, and optical and photonics applications. It also offers substrate products comprising of double-sided wafer cleaning system, entegrity head tester, substrate carrier, substrate polishing templates, double-sided lapping and polishing machines, single-sided polisher, and substrate process chemicals. The company sells its products through sales personnel, as well as a network of independent sales representatives and distributors. Amtech Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
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