Critical Survey: Tokyo Electron (OTCMKTS:TOELY) versus First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR)

Tokyo Electron (OTCMKTS:TOELY – Get Rating) and First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Rating) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Tokyo Electron and First Solar, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tokyo Electron	0	3	0	0	2.00
First Solar	0	7	12	0	2.63

First Solar has a consensus target price of $201.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.69%. Given First Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Solar is more favorable than Tokyo Electron.

Profitability

This table compares Tokyo Electron and First Solar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tokyo Electron	21.66%	34.69%	24.52%
First Solar	-1.69%	-0.75%	-0.58%

Risk & Volatility

Tokyo Electron has a beta of 1.48, suggesting that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Solar has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.1% of Tokyo Electron shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.0% of First Solar shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of First Solar shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Tokyo Electron and First Solar’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tokyo Electron	$17.85 billion	3.17	$3.57 billion	$5.88	15.45
First Solar	$2.62 billion	8.12	-$44.17 million	($0.42)	-475.27

Tokyo Electron has higher revenue and earnings than First Solar. First Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tokyo Electron, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Tokyo Electron beats First Solar on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tokyo Electron

(Get Rating)

Tokyo Electron Ltd. engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of semiconductor production equipment and industrial electronics products for flat panel display manufacturing equipment. It operates through the following segments: Semiconductor Production Equipment (SPE), Flat Panel Display (FPD) Production Equipment and Others. The SPE segment handles the development, manufacture, service, and distribution of coaters/developers, plasma etch systems, thermal processing systems, single wafer deposition systems, cleaning systems, wafer probers, and other semiconductor production equipment. The FPD Production Equipment segment manufactures coater/developer for manufacturing flat panel display and Plasma etching/ashing device. The Others segment includes logistics, facilities management, and insurance businesses. The company was founded in November 11, 1963 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About First Solar

(Get Rating)

First Solar, Inc. is a solar technology company, which engages in the provision of solar modules. It is involved in the design, manufacture, and sale of cadmium tellurid (CdTe) solar modules, which convert sunlight into electricity. The company was founded by Michael J. Ahearn in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, AZ.