Analyzing Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC) and EHang (NASDAQ:EH)

EHang (NASDAQ:EH) and Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

EHang has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astrotech has a beta of 0.32, meaning that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.0% of EHang shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.4% of Astrotech shares are owned by institutional investors. 39.6% of EHang shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of Astrotech shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares EHang and Astrotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EHang	-54.40%	-26.36%	-15.09%
Astrotech	-1,320.31%	-51.77%	-46.19%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for EHang and Astrotech, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EHang	1	0	7	1	2.89
Astrotech	1	0	0	0	1.00

EHang currently has a consensus price target of $26.08, indicating a potential upside of 61.79%. Given EHang’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe EHang is more favorable than Astrotech.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares EHang and Astrotech”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EHang	$62.49 million	18.54	-$31.48 million	($0.50)	-32.24
Astrotech	$1.05 million	5.60	-$13.85 million	($8.39)	-0.40

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

Summary

EHang beats Astrotech on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EHang

EHang Holdings Limited operates as an autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) technology platform company in the People's Republic of China, East Asia, West Asia, Europe, and internationally. It designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and operates AAVs, as well as their supporting systems and infrastructure for various industries and applications, including passenger transportation, logistics, smart city management, and aerial media solutions. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China.

About Astrotech

Astrotech Corporation operates as a mass spectrometry company worldwide. It owns and licenses the intellectual property related to the Astrotech Mass Spectrometer Technology, a platform mass spectrometry technology. The company also develops TRACER 1000, a mass spectrometer-based explosive trace detector to replace the explosives trace detectors used at airports, cargo and other secured facilities, and borders. In addition, it develops AgLAB-1000, a mass spectrometer for use in the hemp and cannabis market. Further, the company develops BreathTest-1000, a breath analysis tool to screen for volatile organic compound metabolites found in a person's breath. The company was formerly known as SPACEHAB, Inc. and changed its name to Astrotech Corporation in 2009. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Austin, Texas.