Critical Analysis: Aeva Technologies (NYSE:AEVA) & Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX)

Aeva Technologies (NYSE:AEVA) and Gentex (NASDAQ:GNTX) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Aeva Technologies has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gentex has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Aeva Technologies and Gentex’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aeva Technologies	$4.31 million	30.53	-$149.33 million	($3.12)	-0.80
Gentex	$2.30 billion	3.38	$428.40 million	$1.89	17.78

Gentex has higher revenue and earnings than Aeva Technologies. Aeva Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gentex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Aeva Technologies and Gentex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aeva Technologies	-2,835.99%	-58.54%	-53.31%
Gentex	18.77%	19.19%	16.93%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.9% of Aeva Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.8% of Gentex shares are held by institutional investors. 34.6% of Aeva Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Gentex shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Aeva Technologies and Gentex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aeva Technologies	0	2	3	0	2.60
Gentex	0	3	3	0	2.50

Aeva Technologies presently has a consensus target price of $10.92, suggesting a potential upside of 338.55%. Gentex has a consensus target price of $37.83, suggesting a potential upside of 12.57%. Given Aeva Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Aeva Technologies is more favorable than Gentex.

Summary

Gentex beats Aeva Technologies on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aeva Technologies

Aeva Technologies, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of LiDAR sensing systems, and related perception and autonomy-enabling software solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The company develops its products using frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) sensing technology. It offers Aeries II, a 4D LiDAR solution that consist of 4D LiDAR sensing system with embedded software for automotive grade production across passenger car, trucking, and mobility applications; and Atlas, a FMCW 4D LiDAR with simultaneous velocity and range detection for the automotive market. The company's products are also used in industrial automation, consumer device, and security market applications. Aeva Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

About Gentex

Gentex Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supplies digital vision, connected car, dimmable glass, and fire protection products in the United States, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, and internationally. It operates through Automotive Products and Other segments. The company offers automotive products, including interior and exterior electrochromic automatic-dimming rearview mirrors, automotive electronics, and non-automatic-dimming rearview mirrors for automotive passenger cars, light trucks, pick-up trucks, sport utility vehicles, and vans for original equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and various aftermarket and accessory customers. It also provides variable dimmable windows to aircraft manufacturers and airline operators. In addition, the company offers photoelectric smoke detectors and alarms, electrochemical carbon monoxide alarms and detectors, audible and visual signaling alarms, and bells and speakers used in fire detection systems in office buildings, hotels, and other commercial and residential buildings, as well as researches and develops nanofiber chemical sensing products. It sells its fire protection products directly, as well as through sales managers and manufacturer representative organizations to fire protection and security product distributors, electrical wholesale houses, and original equipment manufacturers of fire protection systems. Gentex Corporation was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan.