Brooks Automation (NASDAQ:BRKS) and AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
95.3% of Brooks Automation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.8% of AXT shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Brooks Automation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of AXT shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Brooks Automation and AXT, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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Brooks Automation | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2.71 |
AXT | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
Brooks Automation currently has a consensus price target of $81.8750, indicating a potential downside of 13.52%. AXT has a consensus price target of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.84%. Given AXT's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe AXT is more favorable than Brooks Automation.
Volatility & Risk
Brooks Automation has a beta of 1.97, suggesting that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AXT has a beta of 2.29, suggesting that its stock price is 129% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Brooks Automation and AXT's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Brooks Automation | 7.23% | 7.95% | 6.13% |
AXT | -1.01% | -0.46% | -0.39% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Brooks Automation and AXT's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Brooks Automation | $897.27 million | 7.82 | $64.85 million | $1.26 | 75.07 |
AXT | $83.26 million | 5.66 | $-2,600,000.00 | ($0.07) | -160.00 |
Brooks Automation has higher revenue and earnings than AXT. AXT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brooks Automation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Brooks Automation beats AXT on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.