American Superconductor (NASDAQ:AMSC – Get Free Report) and Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT – Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares American Superconductor and Novanta”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| American Superconductor | $222.82 million | 6.75 | $6.03 million | $0.37 | 89.95 |
| Novanta | $949.24 million | 5.20 | $64.09 million | $1.47 | 93.80 |
Volatility & Risk
American Superconductor has a beta of 2.96, suggesting that its share price is 196% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novanta has a beta of 1.6, suggesting that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares American Superconductor and Novanta’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| American Superconductor | 5.69% | 6.48% | 4.54% |
| Novanta | 5.50% | 14.53% | 7.82% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for American Superconductor and Novanta, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| American Superconductor | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Novanta | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
American Superconductor currently has a consensus target price of $39.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.19%. Novanta has a consensus target price of $133.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.55%. Given American Superconductor’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe American Superconductor is more favorable than Novanta.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
52.3% of American Superconductor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.4% of Novanta shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of American Superconductor shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Novanta shares are held by 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.
About American Superconductor
American Superconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions worldwide. The company operates through Grid and Wind segments. The Grid segment offers products and services that enable electric utilities, industrial facilities, and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit, and distribute power under the Gridtec Solutions brand. It provides transmission planning services, which identify power grid congestion, poor power quality, and other risks; grid interconnection solutions for wind farms and solar power plants, power quality systems, and transmission and distribution cable systems; D-VAR systems used for controlling power flow and voltage in the AC transmission system; actiVAR system, a fast-switching medium-voltage reactive compensation solution; armorVAR system installed for reactive compensation, power factor correction, loss reduction, utility bill savings, and mitigation of common power quality concerns related to power converter-based generation and load devices; and D-VAR volt var optimization (VVO) that serves the distribution power grid market. This segment also offers ship protection systems, which reduce a naval ship’s magnetic signature; and ON board power delivery systems, power generation systems, and propulsion systems; and transformers and rectifiers systems. The Wind segment designs wind turbine systems and licenses these designs to third parties under the Windtec Solutions brand. It also supplies power electronics and software-based control systems, engineered designs, and support services; and provides customer support services to wind turbine manufacturers. This segment’s design portfolio comprises a range of drivetrains and power ratings of 2 megawatts and higher. American Superconductor Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Ayer, Massachusetts.
About Novanta
Novanta, Inc. engages in the provision of core technology solutions to healthcare and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers. It operates through the following segments: Photonics, Vision, and Precision Motion. The Photonics segment designs, manufactures, and markets photonics-based solutions, including laser scanning and laser beam delivery, CO2 laser, continuous wave and ultrafast laser, and optical light engine products. The Vision segment offers a range of medical grade technologies, including medical insufflators, pumps and related disposables, surgical displays and operating room integration technologies, optical data collection and machine vision technologies, radio frequency identification technologies, thermal printers, spectrometry technologies, and embedded touch screen solutions. The Precision Motion segment includes optical encoders, precision motor and motion control technology, air bearing spindles, and precision machined components to customers. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Bedford, MA.
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