Head to Head Survey: Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) vs. FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM)

Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ:LSCC) and FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Lattice Semiconductor and FormFactor, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lattice Semiconductor	0	1	13	1	3.00
FormFactor	0	4	6	1	2.73

Lattice Semiconductor currently has a consensus price target of $130.86, indicating a potential upside of 0.20%. FormFactor has a consensus price target of $132.45, indicating a potential upside of 24.90%. Given FormFactor’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FormFactor is more favorable than Lattice Semiconductor.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.1% of Lattice Semiconductor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of FormFactor shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Lattice Semiconductor shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of FormFactor shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Lattice Semiconductor has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its stock price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FormFactor has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lattice Semiconductor and FormFactor”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lattice Semiconductor	$523.26 million	34.20	$3.08 million	$0.14	932.86
FormFactor	$839.78 million	9.84	$54.36 million	$0.87	121.90

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

Profitability

This table compares Lattice Semiconductor and FormFactor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lattice Semiconductor	3.46%	8.48%	7.03%
FormFactor	8.14%	9.31%	7.83%

Summary

FormFactor beats Lattice Semiconductor on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lattice Semiconductor

Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops and sells semiconductor products in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The company offers field programmable gate arrays that consist of four product families, including the Lattice Certus and ECP, Mach, iCE, and CrossLink. It also provides video connectivity application specific standard products. In addition, the company licenses its technology portfolio through standard IP and IP core licensing, patent monetization, and IP services. It sells its products directly to customers, and indirectly through a network of independent manufacturers' representatives and independent distributors. The company primarily serves original equipment manufacturers in the communications and computing, consumer, and industrial, and automotive markets. Lattice Semiconductor Corporation was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.

About FormFactor

FormFactor, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells probe cards, analytical probes, probe stations, metrology systems, thermal systems, and cryogenic systems to semiconductor companies and scientific institutions in the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Europe, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Probe Cards and Systems. The company offers probe cards to test various semiconductor device types, including systems on a chip products, mobile application processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and graphic processors, as well as radio frequency, analog, mixed signal, image sensor, electro-optical, dynamic random access memory, NAND flash memory, and NOR flash memory devices, as well as computer processor devices; and analytical probes, which are used for a range of applications, including device characterization, electrical simulation model development, failure analysis, and prototype design debugging for universities, research institutions, semiconductor integrated device manufacturers, semiconductor foundries, and fabless semiconductor companies. It also provides probe systems for semiconductor design engineers to capture and analyze accurate data; surface metrology systems for the development, production, and quality control of semiconductor products; thermal subsystems, such as thermal chucks and other test systems used in probe stations and other applications; and precision cryogenic instruments, semiconductor tests, and measurement systems. In addition, the company offers on-site probe card maintenance and service training, seminars, and telephone support services. It markets and sells its products through direct sales force, manufacturers' representatives, and distributors. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Livermore, California.