MaxLinear (NASDAQ:MXL – Get Free Report) and Ideal Power (NASDAQ:IPWR – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for MaxLinear and Ideal Power, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| MaxLinear | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Ideal Power | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
MaxLinear currently has a consensus price target of $88.64, indicating a potential upside of 9.27%. Ideal Power has a consensus price target of $10.75, indicating a potential upside of 166.75%. Given Ideal Power’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ideal Power is more favorable than MaxLinear.
Risk and Volatility
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares MaxLinear and Ideal Power”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| MaxLinear | $568.93 million | 12.93 | -$136.68 million | ($1.19) | -68.17 |
| Ideal Power | $40,000.00 | 1,655.32 | -$10.58 million | ($1.06) | -3.80 |
Ideal Power has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MaxLinear. MaxLinear is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ideal Power, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares MaxLinear and Ideal Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| MaxLinear | -18.24% | 2.24% | 1.30% |
| Ideal Power | N/A | -60.76% | -54.15% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
90.8% of MaxLinear shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.4% of Ideal Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.7% of MaxLinear shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Ideal Power shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
MaxLinear beats Ideal Power on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About MaxLinear
MaxLinear, Inc. provides communications systems-on-chip solutions worldwide. Its products integrate various portions of a high-speed communication system, including radio frequency, high-performance analog, mixed-signal, digital signal processing, security engines, data compression and networking layers, and power management. The company's products are used in various electronic devices, such as radio transceivers and modems for 4G/5G base-station and backhaul infrastructure; optical transceivers targeting hyperscale data centers; Wi-Fi and wireline routers for home networking; broadband modems compliant with data over cable service interface specifications, passive optical fiber standards, and digital subscriber line, as well as power management and interface products. It serves electronics distributors, module makers, original equipment manufacturers, and original design manufacturers through a direct sales force, third-party sales representatives, and a network of distributors. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.
About Ideal Power
Ideal Power Inc. focuses on the development and commercialization of its bidirectional bipolar junction TRANsistor solid-state switch technology. It also offers SymCool Power Module designed to meet low conduction loss needs of the solid-state circuit breaker market. The company serves electric and hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging, renewable energy and energy storage system power converters, uninterruptible power supplies for data centers, industrial motor drives, solid-state circuit breakers, distribution and transmission switches and controls, and other industrial and military markets. The company was formerly known as Ideal Power Converters Inc. and changed its name to Ideal Power Inc. in July 2013. Ideal Power Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
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