Analyzing Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR) & Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI)

Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR) and Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Research Frontiers and Hesai Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Research Frontiers	$1.12 million	10.90	-$2.05 million	($0.07)	-5.00
Hesai Group	$432.94 million	4.42	$62.33 million	$0.41	29.71

Hesai Group has higher revenue and earnings than Research Frontiers. Research Frontiers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hesai Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Research Frontiers and Hesai Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Research Frontiers	1	0	0	0	1.00
Hesai Group	0	1	2	1	3.00

Hesai Group has a consensus target price of $23.50, suggesting a potential upside of 92.94%. Given Hesai Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hesai Group is more favorable than Research Frontiers.

Volatility and Risk

Research Frontiers has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hesai Group has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Research Frontiers and Hesai Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Research Frontiers	-344.56%	-168.54%	-85.08%
Hesai Group	14.77%	5.52%	4.47%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

11.9% of Research Frontiers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.5% of Hesai Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Research Frontiers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Hesai Group beats Research Frontiers on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Research Frontiers

Research Frontiers Incorporated engages in the development and marketing of technology and devices to control the flow of light worldwide. It develops and licenses suspended particle device (SPD-Smart) light-control technology to companies that manufacture and market the SPD-Smart chemical emulsion, light-control film made from the chemical emulsion, the light-control panels made by laminating the film, and electronics to power end-products incorporating the film, as well as lamination services for and the end-products, such as windows, skylights, and sunroofs. The company's SPD-Smart light-control technology is used in various product applications, including windows, sunshades, skylights, and interior partitions for homes and buildings; automotive windows, sunroofs, sun-visors, sunshades, rear-view mirrors, instrument panels, and navigation systems; aircraft windows; museum display panels, and eyewear products; and flat panel displays for electronic products. It serves architectural, automotive, marine, and aerospace and appliance applications. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Woodbury, New York.

About Hesai Group

Hesai Group, through with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of three-dimensional light detection and ranging solutions (LiDAR). Its LiDAR products are used in passenger and commercial vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems; autonomous passenger and freight mobility services; and other applications, such as delivery robots, street sweeping robots, and logistics robots in restricted areas. Hesai Group was founded in 2014 and is based in Shanghai, China.