Eltek (NASDAQ:ELTK – Get Free Report) and LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH – Get Free Report) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
64.6% of Eltek shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.3% of LightPath Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 72.0% of Eltek shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 24.8% of LightPath Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Eltek and LightPath Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Eltek | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| LightPath Technologies | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2.83 |
LightPath Technologies has a consensus target price of $13.70, suggesting a potential upside of 92.96%. Given LightPath Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe LightPath Technologies is more favorable than Eltek.
Volatility and Risk
Eltek has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LightPath Technologies has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Eltek and LightPath Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Eltek | $51.79 million | 0.81 | $830,000.00 | ($0.91) | -6.87 |
| LightPath Technologies | $71.72 million | 6.94 | -$20.55 million | ($0.40) | -17.75 |
Eltek has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.
Profitability
This table compares Eltek and LightPath Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Eltek | -12.66% | -13.57% | -9.01% |
| LightPath Technologies | -28.65% | -7.02% | -4.13% |
Summary
LightPath Technologies beats Eltek on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Eltek
Eltek Ltd. manufactures, markets, and sells printed circuit boards (PCBs) in Israel, Europe, North America, India, the Netherlands, and internationally. It offers a range of custom designed PCBs, including rigid, double-sided and multi-layer PCBs, and flexible circuitry boards. The company also provides high density interconnect, flex-rigid, and multi-layered boards. It primarily serves medical technology, defense and aerospace, industrial, telecom, and networking equipment industries, as well as contract electronic manufacturers. The company markets and sells its products primarily through direct sales personnel, sales representatives, and PCB trading and manufacturing companies. Eltek Ltd. was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel. Eltek Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Nistec Golan Ltd.
About LightPath Technologies
LightPath Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes optical components and assemblies. The company offers precision molded glass aspheric optics, molded and diamond-turned infrared aspheric lenses, and other optical components used to produce products that manipulate light; and infrared products, including catalog and custom infrared optics. Its products are used in defense products, medical devices, laser aided industrial tools, automotive safety applications, barcode scanners, optical data storage, hybrid fiber coax datacom, telecommunications, machine vision and sensors, and other sectors. The company sells its products directly to customers in Europe and Asia. LightPath Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
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