Reviewing Cepton (NASDAQ:CPTN) & China Zenix Auto International (OTCMKTS:ZXAIY)

Cepton (NASDAQ:CPTN) and China Zenix Auto International (OTCMKTS:ZXAIY) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Cepton has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China Zenix Auto International has a beta of 2.6, suggesting that its share price is 160% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cepton and China Zenix Auto International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cepton	$21.16 million	2.29	-$48.55 million	($2.56)	-1.19
China Zenix Auto International	$271.18 million	0.20	-$61.16 million	($2.23)	-0.46

Cepton has higher earnings, but lower revenue than China Zenix Auto International. Cepton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than China Zenix Auto International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Cepton and China Zenix Auto International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cepton	-124.14%	N/A	-34.81%
China Zenix Auto International	-41.87%	-40.07%	-24.13%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

68.2% of Cepton shares are owned by institutional investors. 36.1% of Cepton shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Cepton and China Zenix Auto International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cepton	0	2	0	0	2.00
China Zenix Auto International	0	0	0	0	N/A

Summary

China Zenix Auto International beats Cepton on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cepton

Cepton, Inc. provides lidar-based solutions for automotive, smart cities, smart spaces, and smart industrial applications in the United States, Japan, China, and internationally. The company offers autograde lidar sensors, including Cepton Ultra, a slimmest lidar with MagnoSteer technology and proprietary ASIC chipset, enabling a combination of 300-meter range at 10% reflectivity and 0.05° resolution; Vista-X, a compact lidar solution with a range of up to 200m for long-range applications in ADAS L2+/L3, AV L4/L5, and suitable for smart infrastructure applications; and Nova, an extremely-small form factor lidar solution with a range of up to 30m for near-range applications in ADAS L2+/L3, AV L4/L5, and suitable for smart infrastructure applications. It also provides industrial grade lidar sensors, such as Vista-P, a compact lidar solution with a range of up to 200m for long-range applications in ADAS L2+/L3, AV L4/L5, and smart infrastructure applications; and Sora-P, an ultra-high scan rate, compact, and quasi line-scanning lidar solution that delivers high-fidelity profiling of objects moving at high speeds for free flow tolling and other industrial applications. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About China Zenix Auto International

China Zenix Auto International Ltd. engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of steel wheels for commercial vehicles. It operates through the following segments: PRC Aftermarket Sales, PRC OEM Sales, and International Sales. The PRC Aftermarket Sales segment produces and sells steel and aluminum wheels to distributors. The PRC OEM Sales segment produces and sells steel and aluminum wheels to vehicle manufacturers. The International Sales segment manufactures wheels to distributors and vehicle manufacturers outside China. The company was founded on July 11, 2008 and is headquartered in Zhangzhou, China.