Head to Head Analysis: Netlist (OTCMKTS:NLST) versus Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI)

Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI) and Netlist (OTCMKTS:NLST) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Ascent Solar Technologies and Netlist, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascent Solar Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
Netlist	0	0	1	0	3.00

Netlist has a consensus price target of $2.00, indicating a potential upside of 149.84%. Given Netlist’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Netlist is more favorable than Ascent Solar Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares Ascent Solar Technologies and Netlist’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Solar Technologies	-28,235.93%	-1,360.73%	-157.70%
Netlist	-37.19%	-852.20%	-94.11%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ascent Solar Technologies and Netlist”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Solar Technologies	$44,673.00	96.99	-$17.07 million	N/A	N/A
Netlist	$69.21 million	3.15	-$60.40 million	($0.22)	-3.64

Ascent Solar Technologies has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Netlist.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.6% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Netlist shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Netlist shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Ascent Solar Technologies has a beta of 2.46, meaning that its share price is 146% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Netlist has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Netlist beats Ascent Solar Technologies on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ascent Solar Technologies

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a solar technology company, engages in the manufacture and sale of photovoltaic solar modules in the United States. The company markets and sells its products through OEMs, system integrators, distributors, retailers, and value-added resellers. It serves agrivoltaics, aerospace, satellites, near earth orbiting vehicles, and fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.

About Netlist

Netlist, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets memory subsystems for the server, high-performance computing, and communications markets in the United States and internationally. The company portfolio of proprietary technologies and design techniques, includes efficient planar design, alternative packaging techniques, and custom semiconductor logic, to deliver memory subsystems; and sells specialty memory modules and flash-based products for use in data center and industrial applications. It resells component products, including solid state drive (SSD), NAND flash, and dual inline memory module (DIMM) to storage customers, appliance customers, system builders, and cloud and datacenter customers; and sells component inventory to distributors and other users of memory integrated circuits. The company markets and sells its products through a direct sales force and a network of independent sales representatives. Netlist, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.