Contrasting Ultralife (NASDAQ:ULBI) and FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI)

FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI) and Ultralife (NASDAQ:ULBI) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

45.4% of FTC Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of Ultralife shares are held by institutional investors. 21.0% of FTC Solar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 42.9% of Ultralife shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares FTC Solar and Ultralife”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FTC Solar	$99.69 million	0.33	-$79.58 million	($6.25)	-0.32
Ultralife	$187.24 million	0.58	-$5.90 million	($0.40)	-16.35

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

Risk and Volatility

FTC Solar has a beta of 1.76, suggesting that its share price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ultralife has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for FTC Solar and Ultralife, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FTC Solar	1	1	4	0	2.50
Ultralife	1	0	0	0	1.00

FTC Solar currently has a consensus price target of $8.90, indicating a potential upside of 351.78%. Given FTC Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe FTC Solar is more favorable than Ultralife.

Profitability

This table compares FTC Solar and Ultralife’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FTC Solar	-51.02%	N/A	-37.99%
Ultralife	-3.50%	2.75%	1.66%

Summary

Ultralife beats FTC Solar on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FTC Solar

FTC Solar, Inc. engages in the provision of solar tracker systems, software, and engineering services in the United States, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, and Australia. The company offers a self-powered, two-panel in-portrait, and single-axis tracker solution under the Voyager brand name; and a one module-in-portrait solar tracker solution under the Pioneer brand name. Its customers include project developers and solar asset owners, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction contractors that design and build solar energy projects. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About Ultralife

Ultralife Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, installs, and maintains power, and communication and electronics systems worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Battery & Energy Products and Communications Systems. The Battery & Energy Products segment offers lithium 9-volt, cylindrical, thin lithium manganese dioxide, rechargeable, and other non-rechargeable batteries; lithium-ion cells, multi-kilowatt module lithium-ion battery systems, and uninterruptable power supplies; and rugged military and commercial battery charging systems and accessories, including smart chargers, multi-bay charging systems, and various cables. The Communications Systems segment provides communications systems and accessories to support military communications systems, such as radio frequency amplifiers, power supplies and cables, connector assemblies, amplified speakers, equipment mounts, case equipment, man-portable systems, and integrated communication systems for fixed or vehicle applications comprising vehicle adapters, vehicle installed power enhanced rifleman appliqué systems, and SATCOM systems. This segment's military communications systems and accessories are designed to enhance and extend the operation of communications equipment, such as vehicle-mounted, manpack, and handheld transceivers. The company sells its products under the Ultralife, Ultralife HiRate, Ultralife Thin Cell, Ultralife Batteries, Lithium Power, McDowell Research, AMTITM, ABLETM, ACCUTRONICS, ACCUPRO, ENTELLION, SWE Southwest Electronic Energy Group, SWE SEASAFE, Excell Battery Group, and Criterion Gauge brands through original equipment manufacturers, and industrial and defense supply distributors. In addition, it sells its 9-volt battery to the broader consumer market through national and regional retail chains and online retailers. It serves government, defense, and commercial sectors. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Newark, New York.