Comparing Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) and Vistance Networks (NASDAQ:VISN)

Optical Cable (NASDAQ:OCC) and Vistance Networks (NASDAQ:VISN) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Optical Cable and Vistance Networks, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Optical Cable	1	1	0	0	1.50
Vistance Networks	0	4	0	0	2.00

Vistance Networks has a consensus target price of $19.33, indicating a potential upside of 198.82%. Given Vistance Networks’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vistance Networks is more favorable than Optical Cable.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Optical Cable and Vistance Networks”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Optical Cable	$73.04 million	1.59	-$1.46 million	$0.12	109.33
Vistance Networks	$1.93 billion	0.77	$2.28 billion	$30.80	0.21

Vistance Networks has higher revenue and earnings than Optical Cable. Vistance Networks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Optical Cable, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Optical Cable has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vistance Networks has a beta of 2.39, suggesting that its stock price is 139% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Optical Cable and Vistance Networks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Optical Cable	1.29%	5.92%	2.50%
Vistance Networks	247.69%	32.28%	4.61%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.6% of Optical Cable shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.0% of Vistance Networks shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.4% of Optical Cable shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Vistance Networks shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Vistance Networks beats Optical Cable on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Optical Cable

Optical Cable Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of fiber optic and copper data communications cabling and connectivity solutions primarily for the enterprise market in the United States and internationally. The company provides fiber optic and hybrid cables for high bandwidth transmission of data, video, and voice communications; and copper datacom cables, including unshielded and shielded twisted pair constructions. Its fiber optic connectivity products include fiber optic wall mounts, cabinet mount and rack mount enclosures, pre-terminated fiber optic enclosures, fiber optic connectors, splice trays, fiber optic jumpers, plug and play cassette modules, pre-terminated fiber optic cable assemblies, adapters, and accessories; and copper connectivity products comprising category compliant patch panels, jacks, plugs, patch cords, faceplates, surface mounted boxes, distribution and multi-media boxes, copper rack mount and wall mount enclosures, cable assemblies, cable organizers, and other wiring products for equipment rooms, telecommunications closets, data centers, and workstation applications. In addition, the company offers network, data storage, and telecommunications management systems, such as data cabinets, wall mount enclosures, horizontal and vertical cable management systems, and open frame relay racks; and datacom wiring products, including various enclosures, and modules and modular outlets for single dwelling and multiple dwelling residential uses. Further, it provides specialty fiber optic connectors and connectivity components, copper datacom connectors, and related systems and solutions for military, other harsh environment, and special applications, as well as cylindrical connector products. The company sells its products to distributors, original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and end-users. Optical Cable Corporation was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia.

About Vistance Networks

CommScope Holding Company, Inc. provides infrastructure solutions for communications and entertainment networks. It operates through four segments: Broadband Networks (Broadband), Outdoor Wireless Networks (OWN), Venue and Campus Networks (VCN), and Home Networks (Home). The Broadband segment provides converged cable access platforms, passive optical networking products, video systems, access technologies, fiber and coaxial cables, fiber and copper connectivity products, and hardened closures to the telco and cable provider broadband market. The OWN segment provides base station antennas, radio frequency filters, tower connectivity, microwave antennas, metro cell products, cabinets, steel towers, accessories, Spectrum Access System, and Comsearch products to the macro and metro cell markets. The VCN segment offers Wi-Fi and switching, distributed antenna systems, licensed and unlicensed small cells, enterprise fiber, and copper infrastructures for campuses, venues, data centers, and buildings. The Home segment provides devices and related software, and management solutions that offer residential connectivity and services to subscribers, such as digital subscriber lines, cable modems, and telephony and data gateways; and set top boxes and software that support cable, satellite, and Internet protocol television content delivery, which include digital video recorders, high definition set top boxes, and hybrid set top devices. It offers its products and services through specialized resellers and distributors, satellite video distributors, and system integrators, as well as directly to customers in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Canada. The company was formerly known as Cedar I Holding Company, Inc. and changed its name to CommScope Holding Company, Inc. in January 2011. CommScope Holding Company, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina.