LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) & Eltek (NASDAQ:ELTK) Critical Survey

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) and Eltek (NASDAQ:ELTK) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LightPath Technologies and Eltek”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LightPath Technologies	$71.72 million	7.40	-$20.55 million	($0.40)	-18.93
Eltek	$51.79 million	0.81	$830,000.00	($0.91)	-6.85

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.3% of LightPath Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.6% of Eltek shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.9% of LightPath Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 72.0% of Eltek shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for LightPath Technologies and Eltek, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LightPath Technologies	1	0	4	1	2.83
Eltek	1	0	0	0	1.00

LightPath Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $13.70, indicating a potential upside of 80.98%. Given LightPath Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe LightPath Technologies is more favorable than Eltek.

Risk and Volatility

LightPath Technologies has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eltek has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares LightPath Technologies and Eltek’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LightPath Technologies	-28.65%	-7.02%	-4.13%
Eltek	-12.66%	-13.57%	-9.01%

Summary

LightPath Technologies beats Eltek on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LightPath Technologies

LightPath Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures optical components and assemblies for commercial and government customers. Its products include precision-molded glass aspheric lenses, infrared optics, and custom optical systems used in applications such as thermal imaging and sensing. The company serves markets including aerospace and defense, industrial, medical, and telecommunications. Its capabilities span optical design, materials development, manufacturing, and assembly, supporting customers from component selection through integrated optical solutions.

About Eltek

Eltek Ltd. is an Israel-based manufacturer of high-end printed circuit boards (PCBs). The company produces rigid, flexible, and rigid-flexible boards, as well as multilayer, high-density interconnect (HDI), and radio-frequency circuit boards. Its products are designed for applications that require complex circuitry, high reliability, and specialized manufacturing capabilities. Eltek serves customers in industries including aerospace and defense, medical equipment, industrial systems, telecommunications, automotive, and other technology markets.