Critical Contrast: BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY) vs. SiTime (NASDAQ:SITM)

SiTime (NASDAQ:SITM) and BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

84.3% of SiTime shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of SiTime shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of BE Semiconductor Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SiTime and BE Semiconductor Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SiTime	$143.99 million	34.15	-$80.54 million	($4.14)	-50.85
BE Semiconductor Industries	$626.45 million	N/A	$191.66 million	$2.43	46.67

BE Semiconductor Industries has higher revenue and earnings than SiTime. SiTime is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BE Semiconductor Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for SiTime and BE Semiconductor Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SiTime	1	0	3	0	2.50
BE Semiconductor Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

SiTime presently has a consensus price target of $196.25, suggesting a potential downside of 6.77%. Given SiTime’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe SiTime is more favorable than BE Semiconductor Industries.

Risk and Volatility

SiTime has a beta of 1.83, meaning that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BE Semiconductor Industries has a beta of 1.75, meaning that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares SiTime and BE Semiconductor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SiTime	-53.55%	-9.89%	-7.56%
BE Semiconductor Industries	28.93%	39.36%	18.75%

Summary

BE Semiconductor Industries beats SiTime on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SiTime

SiTime Corporation designs, develops, and sells silicon timing systems solutions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore, and internationally. The company provides resonators and clock integrated circuits, and various types of oscillators. It serves various markets, including communications, datacenter, enterprise, automotive, industrial, internet of things, mobile, consumer, and aerospace and defense. The company sells its products directly to customers, distributors, and resellers. SiTime Corporation was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

About BE Semiconductor Industries

BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and service of semiconductor assembly equipment for the semiconductor and electronics industries in China, the United States, Malaysia, Ireland, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Other Asia Pacific and Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Die Attach, Packaging, and Plating. The company's principal products include die attach equipment, such as single chip, multi-chip, multi module, flip chip, thermal compression bonding, fan out wafer level packaging, hybrid and embedded bridge die bonding, and die sorting systems; and packaging equipment, including conventional, ultra-thin, and wafer level molding, as well as trim and form, and singulation systems. It also provides plating equipment, such as tin, copper, and precious metal and solar plating systems, as well as related process chemicals; and tooling, conversion kits, spare parts, and other services. The company's principal brand names include Datacon, Esec, Fico, and Meco. It offers its products primarily to multinational chip manufacturers, assembly subcontractors, and electronics and industrial companies. BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Duiven, the Netherlands.