Financial Analysis: PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) vs. Aixtron (OTCMKTS:AIXNY)

Aixtron (OTCMKTS:AIXNY) and PDF Solutions (NASDAQ:PDFS) are both technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Aixtron and PDF Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aixtron	N/A	N/A	N/A
PDF Solutions	4.27%	7.21%	4.83%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.4% of Aixtron shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.5% of PDF Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.1% of PDF Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Aixtron and PDF Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aixtron	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
PDF Solutions	$219.02 million	9.18	-$640,000.00	$0.25	201.40

Aixtron has higher earnings, but lower revenue than PDF Solutions.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Aixtron and PDF Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aixtron	0	0	0	0	0.00
PDF Solutions	1	1	3	0	2.40

PDF Solutions has a consensus price target of $58.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.19%. Given PDF Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PDF Solutions is more favorable than Aixtron.

Summary

PDF Solutions beats Aixtron on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aixtron

AIXTRON SE is a provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. The Company’s technology solutions are used by a range of customers across the world to build components for electronic and opto-electronic applications based on compound, silicon or organic semiconductor materials. Such components are used in fiber optic communication systems, wireless and mobile telephony applications, optical and electronic storage devices, computing, signaling and lighting, displays, as well as a range of other technologies. The Company’s business activities include developing, producing and installing equipment for the deposition of semiconductor and other complex materials, process engineering, consulting and training, including ongoing customer support and after-sales service. The Company supplies its customers with both production-scale material deposition systems and small scale systems for research and development (R&D) or small scale production.

About PDF Solutions

PDF Solutions, Inc. provides proprietary software and physical intellectual property products for integrated circuit designs, electrical measurement hardware tools, proven methodologies, and professional services in the United States, China, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Exensio software products, such as Manufacturing Analytics that store collected data in a common environment with a consistent view for enabling product engineers to identify and analyze production yield, performance, reliability, and other issues; Process Control that provides failure detection and classification capabilities for monitoring, alarming, and controlling manufacturing tool sets; Test Operations that offer data collection and analysis capabilities; and Assembly Operations that provide device manufacturers with the capability to link assembly and packaging data, including fabrication and characterization data over the product life cycle. It also provides Design-For-Inspection (DFI) systems, such as DFI On-Chip Instruments; eProbe Non-Contact E-Beam Tool; and Characterization Vehicle (CV) system, which includes CV Test Chips and pdFasTest Electrical Testers, as well as Exensio characterization software, designed to analyze the measurements collected using the eProbe tool. In addition, the company offers Cimetrix software products that enables equipment manufacturers to provide industry standard interfaces on their products; and software-as-a-service, software related services, and characterization services. It sells its technologies and services through direct sales force, service teams, and strategic alliances to integrated device manufacturers, fabless semiconductor companies, foundries, equipment manufacturers, electronics manufacturing suppliers, original device manufacturers, out-sourced semiconductor assembly and test, and system houses. PDF Solutions, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.