Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) vs. Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ:NVTS) Critical Review

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) and Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ:NVTS) are both mid-cap technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Veeco Instruments and Navitas Semiconductor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Veeco Instruments	3.40%	3.52%	2.32%
Navitas Semiconductor	-856.85%	-13.13%	-11.91%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Veeco Instruments and Navitas Semiconductor”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Veeco Instruments	$664.29 million	4.16	$35.39 million	$0.36	125.44
Navitas Semiconductor	$36.53 million	65.96	-$116.95 million	($1.33)	-6.94

Veeco Instruments has higher revenue and earnings than Navitas Semiconductor. Navitas Semiconductor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Veeco Instruments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.5% of Veeco Instruments shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.1% of Navitas Semiconductor shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Veeco Instruments shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.4% of Navitas Semiconductor shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Veeco Instruments and Navitas Semiconductor, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Veeco Instruments	0	4	3	0	2.43
Navitas Semiconductor	2	2	2	0	2.00

Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus target price of $52.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.15%. Navitas Semiconductor has a consensus target price of $15.92, indicating a potential upside of 72.48%. Given Navitas Semiconductor’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Navitas Semiconductor is more favorable than Veeco Instruments.

Volatility and Risk

Veeco Instruments has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Navitas Semiconductor has a beta of 3.96, indicating that its stock price is 296% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Veeco Instruments beats Navitas Semiconductor on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, sells, and supports semiconductor and thin film process equipment primarily to make electronic devices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, China, Rest of the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers laser annealing, ion beam deposition and etch, metal organic chemical vapor deposition, single wafer wet processing and surface preparation, molecular beam epitaxy, advanced packaging lithography, atomic layer deposition, and other deposition systems. Its process equipment systems are used in the production of a range of microelectronic components, including logic, dynamic random-access memory, photonics devices, power electronics, radio frequency filters and amplifiers, magnetic heads for hard disk drives, and other semiconductor devices. In addition, the company markets and sells its products to integrated device manufacturers and foundries; outsourced semiconductor assembly and test companies; and hard disk drive and photonics manufacturers, as well as research centers and universities. Veeco Instruments Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Plainview, New York.

About Navitas Semiconductor

Navitas Semiconductor Corporation designs, develops, and markets gallium nitride power integrated circuits, silicon carbide, associated high-speed silicon system controllers, and digital isolators used in power conversion and charging. The company’s products are used in mobile, consumer, data center, solar, electric vehicle, industrial motor drive, smart grid, and transportation applications. It operates in the United States, Europe, China, rest of Asia, and internationally. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Torrance, California.