nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) vs. Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) Head to Head Comparison

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) and Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for nLight and Sono-Tek, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
nLight	1	1	8	1	2.82
Sono-Tek	0	1	1	0	2.50

nLight currently has a consensus target price of $75.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.39%. Sono-Tek has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 57.70%. Given Sono-Tek’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sono-Tek is more favorable than nLight.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.9% of nLight shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.9% of Sono-Tek shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of nLight shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Sono-Tek shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares nLight and Sono-Tek’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
nLight	-5.08%	-4.18%	-3.20%
Sono-Tek	8.64%	9.52%	7.45%

Risk & Volatility

nLight has a beta of 2.31, indicating that its stock price is 131% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sono-Tek has a beta of -0.03, indicating that its stock price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares nLight and Sono-Tek”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
nLight	$289.84 million	12.62	-$23.47 million	($0.30)	-216.23
Sono-Tek	$20.91 million	4.05	$1.81 million	$0.11	49.00

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

Summary

Sono-Tek beats nLight 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 Sono-Tek

Sono-Tek Corporation designs and manufactures ultrasonic coating systems for applying on parts and components for the microelectronics/electronics, alternative energy, medical, industrial, and research and development/other markets worldwide. The company also designs and manufactures custom-engineered ultrasonic coating systems; and provides nozzles and generators for manufacturers' equipment. Its products include integrated multi-axis coating systems, integrated coating systems, fluxing systems, OEM systems, and other related systems. In addition, the company provides surface coating solutions and application consulting services. It markets and distributes its products through direct sales personnel, select independent distributors, and sales representatives. The company was incorporated in 1975 and is based in Milton, New York.