Contrasting NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) & indie Semiconductor (NASDAQ:INDI)

indie Semiconductor (NASDAQ:INDI) and NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares indie Semiconductor and NVE’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
indie Semiconductor	-66.23%	-29.33%	-13.71%
NVE	54.59%	23.47%	22.73%

Risk & Volatility

indie Semiconductor has a beta of 2.55, indicating that its stock price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NVE has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

67.7% of indie Semiconductor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.0% of NVE shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of indie Semiconductor shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of NVE shares are held 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares indie Semiconductor and NVE”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
indie Semiconductor	$217.39 million	2.59	-$143.07 million	($0.73)	-3.51
NVE	$25.88 million	12.39	$15.06 million	$2.92	22.68

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
indie Semiconductor	1	1	5	0	2.57
NVE	0	1	0	0	2.00

indie Semiconductor currently has a consensus target price of $6.45, suggesting a potential upside of 151.95%. Given indie Semiconductor’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe indie Semiconductor is more favorable than NVE.

About indie Semiconductor

indie Semiconductor, Inc. provides automotive semiconductors and software solutions for advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous vehicle, in-cabin, connected car, and electrification applications in the United States, South America, rest of North America, Greater China, South Korea, rest of the Asia Pacific, and Europe. It offers ultrasonic sensors for parking assist and systems; radar sensors for audio assistance and reverse information; front cameras for vehicle detection, collision avoidance, and sign reading; and side/inside cameras for blind spot and lane change assist, and driver behavior monitoring. The company also provides LiDAR for distance, speed, and obstacle detection, collision avoidance, and emergency brake system; and long range RADAR for audio assistance, obstacle detection, and ACC stop and go. In addition, it designs and manufactures photonic components on various technology platforms, including fiber Bragg gratings, low-noise lasers, athermal and tunable packaging, photonic integration, and low-noise and high-speed electronics. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California.

About NVE

NVE Corporation develops and sells devices that use spintronics, a nanotechnology that relies on electron spin to acquire, store, and transmit information in the United States and internationally. The company manufactures spintronic products, including sensors and couplers for use in acquiring and transmitting data. Its products comprise standard sensors to detect the presence of a magnetic or metallic material to determine position, rotation, or speed for the factory automation market; and custom and medical sensors for medical devices to replace electromechanical magnetic switches. The company also offers spintronic couplers for power conversion and industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market; and DC-to-DC convertors for use in power conversion systems and industrial networks for the IIoT. In addition, it undertakes contracts for research and development, and licensing of spintronic magnetoresistive random access memory technology. NVE Corporation was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.