Financial Contrast: Senstar Technologies (NASDAQ:SNT) versus nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) and Senstar Technologies (NASDAQ:SNT) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares nLight and Senstar Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
nLight	$261.33 million	8.96	-$23.47 million	($0.25)	-162.32
Senstar Technologies	$36.80 million	0.98	$3.22 million	$0.02	77.00

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

Profitability

This table compares nLight and Senstar Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
nLight	-4.02%	-2.83%	-2.26%
Senstar Technologies	1.34%	1.16%	0.91%

Volatility & Risk

nLight has a beta of 2.37, suggesting that its share price is 137% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Senstar Technologies has a beta of 2.3, suggesting that its share price is 130% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for nLight and Senstar Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
nLight	1	1	8	1	2.82
Senstar Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00

nLight presently has a consensus target price of $87.94, suggesting a potential upside of 116.70%. Given nLight’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe nLight is more favorable than Senstar Technologies.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.9% of nLight shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.7% of Senstar Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of nLight shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of Senstar Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

nLight beats Senstar Technologies on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About nLight

nLIGHT, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial and aerospace and defense applications. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications. It sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, China, South Korea, and European countries, as well as through independent sales representatives and distributors in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. The company was formerly known as nLight Photonics Corporation and changed its name to nLIGHT, Inc. in January 2016. nLIGHT, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Camas, Washington.

About Senstar Technologies

Senstar Technologies Corporation provides physical, video, and access control security products and solutions worldwide. It offers solutions for critical sites, which leverage its portfolio of perimeter intrusion detection systems, and video management software with intelligent video analytics security solutions, as well as access control products and technologies. The company's solutions and products are optimized for perimeter, outdoor, and general security applications. Its portfolio of critical infrastructure protection and site protection technologies includes various smart barriers and fences, fence mounted sensors, virtual gates, buried and concealed detection systems, and sensors for sub-surface intrusion, such as to secure pipelines, as well as video analytics software and video management systems. Senstar Technologies Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Ottawa, Canada.