Reviewing LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) and OSI Systems (NASDAQ:OSIS)

LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ:LPTH) and OSI Systems (NASDAQ:OSIS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LightPath Technologies and OSI Systems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LightPath Technologies	$31.73 million	2.07	-$8.01 million	($0.22)	-7.55
OSI Systems	$1.54 billion	1.45	$128.15 million	$7.36	18.26

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

Profitability

This table compares LightPath Technologies and OSI Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LightPath Technologies	-25.24%	-24.55%	-15.46%
OSI Systems	8.33%	17.80%	7.97%

Volatility and Risk

LightPath Technologies has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OSI Systems has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for LightPath Technologies and OSI Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LightPath Technologies	0	0	2	0	3.00
OSI Systems	0	0	5	0	3.00

LightPath Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 80.72%. OSI Systems has a consensus target price of $172.60, indicating a potential upside of 28.46%. Given LightPath Technologies’ higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe LightPath Technologies is more favorable than OSI Systems.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

56.3% of LightPath Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.2% of OSI Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of LightPath Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of OSI Systems shares are held 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.

Summary

OSI Systems beats LightPath Technologies on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LightPath Technologies

LightPath Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes optical components and assemblies. The company offers precision molded glass aspheric optics, molded and diamond-turned infrared aspheric lenses, and other optical components used to produce products that manipulate light; and infrared products, including catalog and custom infrared optics. Its products are used in defense products, medical devices, laser aided industrial tools, automotive safety applications, barcode scanners, optical data storage, hybrid fiber coax datacom, telecommunications, machine vision and sensors, and other sectors. The company sells its products directly to customers in Europe and Asia. LightPath Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About OSI Systems

OSI Systems, Inc. designs and manufactures electronic systems and components. It operates in three segments: Security, Healthcare, and Optoelectronics and Manufacturing. The Security segment offers baggage and parcel inspection, cargo and vehicle inspection, hold baggage and people screening, radiation monitoring, explosive and narcotics trace detection systems, and optical inspection systems under the Rapiscan name. It also provides site design, installation, training, and technical support services; and turnkey security screening solutions under the S2 name. The Healthcare segment offers patient monitoring, cardiology and remote monitoring, and connected care systems and accessories under the Spacelabs name for use in critical care, emergency, and perioperative areas within hospitals, physicians' offices, medical clinics, and ambulatory surgery centers. The Optoelectronics and Manufacturing segment provides optoelectronic devices under the OSI Optoelectronics, OSI LaserDiode, OSI Laserscan, and Advanced Photonix names for the aerospace and defense, avionics, medical imaging and diagnostics, biochemistry analysis, pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, telecommunications, construction, and homeland security markets. It also offers electronics manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers and end users for medical, automotive, defense, aerospace, industrial, and consumer applications under the OSI Electronics, APlus Products, Altaflex, and PFC Flexible Circuits names; LCD displays for medical, industrial, and consumer electronics applications; and flex circuits for OEM customers. This segment offers laser-based remote sensing devices to detect and classify vehicles in toll and traffic management systems under the OSI Laserscan and Autosense names; and solid-state laser products for aerospace, defense, telecommunication, and medical applications under the OSI LaserDiode name. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Hawthorne, California.