NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) versus Ichor (NASDAQ:ICHR) Financial Survey

NVE (NASDAQ:NVEC) and Ichor (NASDAQ:ICHR) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NVE	57.46%	25.83%	25.35%
Ichor	-6.61%	-2.93%	-1.81%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for NVE and Ichor, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NVE	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ichor	0	1	4	0	2.80

Ichor has a consensus target price of $46.60, indicating a potential upside of 15.89%. Given Ichor’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ichor is more favorable than NVE.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

66.0% of NVE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Ichor shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of NVE shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Ichor shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

NVE has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ichor has a beta of 1.94, indicating that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NVE and Ichor’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NVE	$29.80 million	11.78	$17.12 million	$3.55	20.48
Ichor	$811.12 million	1.66	-$42.99 million	($1.77)	-22.72

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

Summary

NVE beats Ichor on 7 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 Ichor

Ichor Holdings, Ltd. engages in the design, engineering, and manufacture of fluid delivery subsystems and components for semiconductor capital equipment in the United States and internationally. It primarily offers gas and chemical delivery systems and subsystems that are used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices. The company's gas delivery subsystems deliver, monitor, and control gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes, such as etch and deposition; and chemical delivery subsystems blend and dispense the reactive liquid chemistries used in semiconductor manufacturing processes comprising chemical-mechanical planarization, electroplating, and cleaning. In addition, it manufactures precision machined components, weldments, electron beam, laser-welded components, precision vacuum and hydrogen brazing, surface treatment technologies, and other proprietary products. The company primarily markets its products to equipment OEMs in the semiconductor equipment market in Japan. Ichor Holdings, Ltd. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.