Comparing Netlist (OTCMKTS:NLST) and 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 business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and earnings.

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%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Ascent Solar Technologies and Netlist, as provided 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 135.02%. Given Netlist’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Netlist is more favorable than Ascent Solar Technologies.

Volatility and Risk

Ascent Solar Technologies has a beta of 2.47, indicating that its share price is 147% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Netlist has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

10.6% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Netlist shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Netlist shares are held by company 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.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Solar Technologies	$44,673.00	94.62	-$17.07 million	N/A	N/A
Netlist	$69.21 million	3.34	-$60.40 million	($0.22)	-3.87

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

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.