Ichor (NASDAQ:ICHR) vs. NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) Head to Head Survey

Ichor (NASDAQ:ICHR) and NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ichor and NVE’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ichor	$811.12 million	1.55	-$42.99 million	($1.77)	-21.21
NVE	$29.80 million	11.89	$17.12 million	$3.55	20.67

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.8% of Ichor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.0% of NVE shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Ichor shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of NVE shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Ichor has a beta of 1.94, meaning that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NVE has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ichor and NVE’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ichor	-6.61%	-2.93%	-1.81%
NVE	57.46%	25.83%	25.35%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Ichor and NVE, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ichor	0	1	4	0	2.80
NVE	0	0	0	0	N/A

Ichor currently has a consensus target price of $46.60, indicating a potential upside of 24.10%. Given Ichor’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Ichor is more favorable than NVE.

Summary

NVE beats Ichor on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ichor

Ichor Holdings, Ltd. engages in the design, engineering, and manufacture of fluid delivery subsystems and components for semiconductor capital equipment in the United States and internationally. It primarily offers gas and chemical delivery systems and subsystems that are used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices. The company's gas delivery subsystems deliver, monitor, and control gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, such as etch and deposition; and chemical delivery subsystems blend and dispense the reactive liquid chemistries used in semiconductor manufacturing processes comprising chemical-mechanical planarization, electroplating, and cleaning. In addition, it manufactures precision machined components, weldments, electron beam, laser-welded components, precision vacuum and hydrogen brazing, surface treatment technologies, and other proprietary products. The company primarily markets its products to equipment OEMs in the semiconductor equipment market in Japan. Ichor Holdings, Ltd. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

About NVE

NVE Corporation develops and sells devices that use spintronics, a nanotechnology that relies on electron spin to acquire, store, and transmit information in the United States and internationally. The company manufactures spintronic products, including sensors and couplers for use in acquiring and transmitting data. Its products comprise standard sensors to detect the presence of a magnetic or metallic material to determine position, rotation, or speed for the factory automation market; and custom and medical sensors for medical devices to replace electromechanical magnetic switches. The company also offers spintronic couplers for power conversion and industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market; and DC-to-DC convertors for use in power conversion systems and industrial networks for the IIoT. In addition, it undertakes contracts for research and development, and licensing of spintronic magnetoresistive random access memory technology. NVE Corporation was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.