Financial Comparison: Applied Energetics (OTCMKTS:AERG) vs. Microvision (NASDAQ:MVIS)

Applied Energetics (OTCMKTS:AERG) and Microvision (NASDAQ:MVIS) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Applied Energetics and Microvision”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Energetics	$2.43 million	196.05	-$9.18 million	($0.03)	-72.67
Microvision	$4.33 million	61.03	-$96.92 million	($0.44)	-2.41

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

Risk and Volatility

Applied Energetics has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Microvision has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Applied Energetics and Microvision, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Energetics	0	0	0	0	0.00
Microvision	0	1	2	0	2.67

Microvision has a consensus price target of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 135.85%. Given Microvision’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Microvision is more favorable than Applied Energetics.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.5% of Applied Energetics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.9% of Microvision shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.2% of Applied Energetics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Microvision shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Applied Energetics and Microvision’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Energetics	-386.66%	-413.63%	-239.35%
Microvision	-2,295.70%	-161.24%	-92.54%

Summary

Microvision beats Applied Energetics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Applied Energetics

Applied Energetics, Inc. engages in the provision of advanced optical technologies and ultrashort pulse directed energy solutions utilizing dual-use laser and optical technologies to defense, national security, industrial, biomedical, and scientific customers worldwide. It develops and holds various intellectual property rights such as laser guided energy and laser induced plasma channel technology for used in high-tech directed energy systems. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.

About Microvision

MicroVision, Inc. develops and sells lidar sensors and software used in automotive safety and autonomous driving applications. It offers a suite of light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors and perception; and validation software for automotive OEMs, advanced driver-assistance systems, and autonomous vehicle applications, as well as non-automotive applications including industrial, robotics, and smart infrastructure. The company also provides MAVIN DR, a dynamic view lidar system, which combines short, medium, and long range sense and field of view into one form; lidar sensors under the MOVIA brand name; and MOSAIK, a software that automates manual data classification or annotation process. In addition, it provides engineering services for its hardware and software products. The company markets its products to customers directly, through trade shows, and its website. MicroVision, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.