AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) and Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) Financial Survey

AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) and Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AXT and Cohu”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AXT	$88.33 million	28.86	-$21.26 million	$0.45	86.40
Cohu	$569.31 million	3.20	-$74.27 million	($0.52)	-74.02

AXT has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Cohu. Cohu is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AXT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for AXT and Cohu, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AXT	1	1	3	1	2.67
Cohu	1	1	7	1	2.80

AXT currently has a consensus target price of $77.80, suggesting a potential upside of 100.10%. Cohu has a consensus target price of $74.38, suggesting a potential upside of 93.23%. Given AXT’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe AXT is more favorable than Cohu.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.5% of AXT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.7% of Cohu shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.0% of AXT shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Cohu shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares AXT and Cohu’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AXT	18.53%	5.21%	3.97%
Cohu	-3.97%	1.47%	0.91%

Volatility & Risk

AXT has a beta of 2.01, meaning that its share price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cohu has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AXT beats Cohu on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AXT

AXT, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes compound and single element semiconductor substrates. The company offers indium phosphide for use in data center connectivity using light/lasers, high-speed data transfer in data centers, 5G communications, fiber optic lasers and detectors, consumer devices, passive optical networks, silicon photonics, photonic integrated circuits, thermo-photovoltaics, RF amplifier and switching, infrared light-emitting diode (LEDS) motion control, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and infrared thermal imaging. It also provides semi-insulating gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates for use in Wi-Fi and IoT devices, transistors, direct broadcast television, power amplifiers, satellite communications, and solar cells; and semi-conducting GaAs substrates that are used in LEDs, screen displays using micro-LEDs, printer head lasers and LEDs, 3-D sensing using VCSELs, data center communication using VCSELs, sensors for industrial robotics/near-infrared sensors, optical couplers, solar cells, night vision goggles, lidar for robotics and autonomous vehicles, and other lasers, as well as laser machining, cutting, and drilling. In addition, the company offers germanium substrates for use in multi-junction solar cells for satellites, optical sensors and detectors, terrestrial concentrated photo voltaic cells, infrared detectors, and carrier wafer for LED. Further, it provides 6N+ and 7N+ purified gallium, boron trioxide, gallium-magnesium alloy, pyrolytic boron nitride (pBN) crucibles, and pBN insulating parts. It sells its products through direct salesforce in the United States, China, and Europe, as well as through independent sales representatives and distributors in Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and internationally. The company was formerly known as American Xtal Technology, Inc. and changed its name to AXT, Inc. in July 2000. AXT, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides semiconductor test equipment and services in China, the United States, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and internationally. The company supplies semiconductor test and inspection handlers, micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) test modules, test contactors, thermal sub-systems, and semiconductor automated test equipment for semiconductor manufacturers and test subcontractors. It also provides semiconductor automated test equipment for wafer level and device package testing; various test handlers, including pick-and-place, turret, gravity, strip, and MEMS and thermal sub-systems; interface products comprising test contactors, and probe heads and pins; spares and kits; various parts and labor warranties on test and handling systems, and instruments; and training on the maintenance and operation of its systems, as well as application, data management software, and consulting services on its products. In addition, the company offers data analytics product that includes DI-Core, a software suite used to optimize Cohu equipment performance, which provides real-time online performance monitoring and process control. It markets its products through direct sales force and independent sales representatives. The company was formerly known as Cohu Electronics, Inc. and changed its name to Cohu, Inc. in 1972. The company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Poway, California.