Reviewing Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Aeluma (NASDAQ:ALMU)

Aeluma (NASDAQ:ALMU) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Aeluma and Applied Materials”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aeluma	$4.46 million	51.68	-$9.16 million	($0.52)	-22.94
Applied Materials	$28.37 billion	14.26	$7.00 billion	$11.60	43.93

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

Profitability

This table compares Aeluma and Applied Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aeluma	-205.31%	-18.14%	-17.20%
Applied Materials	30.05%	38.02%	22.09%

Volatility & Risk

Aeluma has a beta of 4.1, indicating that its stock price is 310% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Materials has a beta of 1.6, indicating that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Aeluma and Applied Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aeluma	1	0	3	1	2.80
Applied Materials	0	8	30	1	2.82

Aeluma presently has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 109.56%. Applied Materials has a consensus target price of $640.20, indicating a potential upside of 25.64%. Given Aeluma’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Aeluma is more favorable than Applied Materials.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.8% of Aeluma shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Applied Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Applied Materials beats Aeluma on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aeluma

Aeluma, Inc. develops optoelectronic and electronic devices in the United States. The company manufactures semiconductor materials and chips using compound semiconductors on diameter substrates that are used to manufacture mass market microelectronics. It offers its devices for use in mobile, automotive, AI, defence and aerospace, communication, AR/VR, and HPC applications, as well as laser emitters, transistors for integrated circuits, quantum photonic circuits, and solar cells applications. Aeluma, Inc. was formerly known as Parc Investments, Inc. and changed its name to Aeluma, Inc. June 2021. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Goleta, California.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits. This segment also offers various technologies, including epitaxy, ion implantation, oxidation/nitridation, rapid thermal processing, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, electrochemical deposition, atomic layer deposition, etching, and selective deposition and removal, as well as metrology and inspection tools. The Applied Global Services segment provides integrated solutions to optimize equipment and fab performance and productivity comprising spares, upgrades, services, remanufactured earlier generation equipment, and factory automation software for semiconductor, display, and other products. The Display and Adjacent Markets segment offers products for manufacturing liquid crystal displays; organic light-emitting diodes; and other display technologies for TVs, monitors, laptops, personal computers, electronic tablets, smart phones, and other consumer-oriented devices. It operates in the United States, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. The company was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.