Head to Head Survey: Atomera (NASDAQ:ATOM) versus NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC)

NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) and Atomera (NASDAQ:ATOM) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for NVE and Atomera, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NVE	0	0	1	0	3.00
Atomera	1	0	0	0	1.00

Volatility and Risk

NVE has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atomera has a beta of 2.02, suggesting that its share price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NVE and Atomera’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NVE	57.64%	30.53%	29.54%
Atomera	-9,742.17%	-77.91%	-70.64%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NVE and Atomera”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NVE	$26.33 million	20.06	$15.20 million	$3.72	29.34
Atomera	$60,000.00	2,828.95	-$20.17 million	($0.65)	-6.69

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.9% of NVE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.8% of Atomera shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of NVE shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Atomera shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

NVE beats Atomera on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NVE

NVE Corporation develops and sells devices that use spintronics, a nanotechnology that relies on electron spin to acquire, store, and transmit information in the United States and internationally. The company manufactures spintronic products, including sensors and couplers for use in acquiring and transmitting data. Its products comprise standard sensors to detect the presence of a magnetic or metallic material to determine position, rotation, or speed for the factory automation market; and custom and medical sensors for medical devices to replace electromechanical magnetic switches. The company also offers spintronic couplers for power conversion and industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market; and DC-to-DC convertors for use in power conversion systems and industrial networks for the IIoT. In addition, it undertakes contracts for research and development, and licensing of spintronic magnetoresistive random access memory technology. NVE Corporation was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

About Atomera

Atomera Incorporated engages in the developing, commercializing, and licensing proprietary processes and technologies for the semiconductor industry in North America and the Asia Pacific. The company's lead technology is the Mears Silicon Technology, a thin film of reengineered silicon that can be applied as a transistor channel enhancement to CMOS-type transistors. Its customers include foundries, integrated device manufacturers, fabless semiconductor manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, and electronic design automation companies. The company was formerly known as Mears Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Atomera Incorporated in January 2016. Atomera Incorporated was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California.