KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) and Maxeon Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:MAXN – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Risk & Volatility
KLA has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Maxeon Solar Technologies has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
86.7% of KLA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.7% of Maxeon Solar Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 91.5% of KLA shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Maxeon Solar Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| KLA | 35.57% | 87.66% | 29.23% |
| Maxeon Solar Technologies | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares KLA and Maxeon Solar Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| KLA | $13.58 billion | 17.69 | $4.83 billion | $3.67 | 50.09 |
| Maxeon Solar Technologies | $176.41 million | 0.07 | -$614.30 million | ($163.07) | -0.00 |
KLA has higher revenue and earnings than Maxeon Solar Technologies. Maxeon Solar Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KLA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for KLA and Maxeon Solar Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| KLA | 0 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 2.72 |
| Maxeon Solar Technologies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
KLA currently has a consensus target price of $223.70, suggesting a potential upside of 21.69%. Given KLA’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe KLA is more favorable than Maxeon Solar Technologies.
Summary
KLA beats Maxeon Solar Technologies on 15 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About KLA
KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection. The company offers inspection and review tools to identify, locate, characterize, review, and analyze defects on various surfaces of patterned and unpatterned wafers; metrology systems that are used to measure pattern dimensions, film thickness, film stress, layer-to-layer alignment, pattern placement, surface topography, and electro-optical properties for wafers; chemical process control equipment; wired and wireless sensor wafers and reticles; wafer defect inspection, review, and metrology systems; reticle inspection and metrology systems; and semiconductor software solutions that provide run-time process control, defect excursion identification, process corrections, and defect classification to accelerate yield learning rates and reduce production risk. It also provides etch, plasma dicing, deposition, and other wafer processing technologies and solutions for the semiconductor and microelectronics industry. In addition, the company offers direct imaging, inspection, optical shaping, inkjet and additive printing, UV laser drilling, and computer-aided manufacturing and engineering solutions for the PCB market; inspection and electrical testing systems to identify and classify defects, as well as systems to repair defects for the display market; and inspection and metrology systems for quality control and yield improvement in advanced and traditional semiconductor packaging markets. The company was formerly known as KLA-Tencor Corporation and changed its name to KLA Corporation in July 2019. KLA Corporation was incorporated in 1975 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.
About Maxeon Solar Technologies
Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. designs, manufactures, markets, and sells solar panels and related solar system components worldwide. The company provides interdigitated back contact and shingled solar cells and panels under the SunPower brand. It offers its products to dealers, project developers, system integrators, distributors, resellers, and residential and small-scale commercial customers. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Singapore.
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