VIA optronics (NYSE:VIAO) vs. Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) Critical Survey

VIA optronics (NYSE:VIAO) and Ultra Clean (NASDAQ:UCTT) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for VIA optronics and Ultra Clean, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VIA optronics	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ultra Clean	0	0	3	0	3.00

Ultra Clean has a consensus price target of $52.33, indicating a potential upside of 13.35%. Given Ultra Clean’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ultra Clean is more favorable than VIA optronics.

Risk and Volatility

VIA optronics has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ultra Clean has a beta of 2.03, suggesting that its share price is 103% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.1% of Ultra Clean shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.9% of VIA optronics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Ultra Clean 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 VIA optronics and Ultra Clean’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VIA optronics	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ultra Clean	-1.79%	1.69%	0.83%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares VIA optronics and Ultra Clean’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VIA optronics	$230.25 million	N/A	-$10.75 million	N/A	N/A
Ultra Clean	$1.73 billion	1.19	-$31.10 million	($0.69)	-66.91

VIA optronics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ultra Clean.

Summary

Ultra Clean beats VIA optronics on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About VIA optronics

VIA optronics AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides display solutions worldwide. It also develops, manufactures, and sells customized and application-specific metal mesh touch sensors and electrode base film materials for use in touch modules or other touch products. In addition, the company offers interactive display solutions, including curved display panels and solutions integrating multiple display touch assemblies; and optical bonding services, as well as licenses optical bonding process and sells related equipment. It serves automotive, consumer electronics, and industrial/specialized end markets. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany. VIA optronics AG is a subsidiary of Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc.

About Ultra Clean

Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. develops and supplies critical subsystems, components and parts, and ultra-high purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry in the United States and internationally. The company provides ultra-clean valves, high purity connectors, industrial process connectors and valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds and safety solutions, hoses, pressure gauges, and gas line and component heaters; chemical delivery modules that deliver gases and reactive chemicals in a liquid or gaseous form from a centralized subsystem to the reaction chamber; and gas delivery systems, such as weldments, filters, mass flow controllers, regulators, pressure transducers and valves, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system. It also offers various industrial and automation production equipment; fluid delivery systems consist of one or more chemical delivery units, including PFA tubing, filters, flow controllers, regulators, component heaters, and an integrated electronic and/or pneumatic control system; precision robotic systems; top-plate assemblies; frame assemblies; process modules, a subsystem of semiconductor manufacturing tools that process integrated circuits onto wafers; and other high-level assemblies. In addition, the company provides tool chamber parts cleaning and coating services; micro-contamination analysis services for tool parts, wafers and depositions, chemicals, cleanroom materials, deionized water, and airborne molecular contamination; and analytical verification services for process tool chamber part cleaning. It primarily serves original equipment manufacturing customers in the semiconductor capital equipment and semiconductor integrated device manufacturing industries, as well as display, consumer, medical, energy, industrial, and research equipment industries. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Hayward, California.