Gentherm (NASDAQ:THRM) and Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ) Critical Contrast

Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ) and Gentherm (NASDAQ:THRM) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Innoviz Technologies and Gentherm, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Innoviz Technologies	0	2	2	0	2.50
Gentherm	1	2	1	0	2.00

Innoviz Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $3.56, suggesting a potential upside of 405.53%. Gentherm has a consensus price target of $63.50, suggesting a potential upside of 22.52%. Given Innoviz Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Innoviz Technologies is more favorable than Gentherm.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

63.3% of Innoviz Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.1% of Gentherm shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.2% of Innoviz Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Gentherm 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Innoviz Technologies and Gentherm’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Innoviz Technologies	$20.88 million	4.60	-$123.45 million	($0.77)	-0.92
Gentherm	$1.47 billion	1.11	$40.34 million	$1.46	35.50

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

Volatility and Risk

Innoviz Technologies has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gentherm has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Innoviz Technologies and Gentherm’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Innoviz Technologies	-441.23%	-79.64%	-56.60%
Gentherm	4.61%	14.03%	7.34%

Summary

Gentherm beats Innoviz Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Innoviz Technologies

Innoviz Technologies Ltd. manufactures and sells automotive grade LiDAR sensors and perception software to enable safe autonomous driving at a mass scale. The company offers InnovizOne, a solid-state LiDAR sensor designed for automakers and robotaxis, shuttles, trucks, and delivery companies requiring an automotive-grade and mass-producible solution to achieve autonomy. It also provides InnovizTwo, an automotive-grade LiDAR sensor that offers a solution for all levels of autonomous driving, as well as an option to integrate the perception application in the LiDAR sensor; and perception application, a software application that raw point cloud data from Innoviz LiDAR products into perception outputs. The company operates in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and North America. It markets and sells its products through a direct sales organization, as well as through distribution channels. The company is headquartered in Rosh Haayin, Israel.

About Gentherm

Gentherm Incorporated designs, develops, manufactures, and sells thermal management and pneumatic comfort technologies in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive and Medical. The Automotive segment offers climate comfort systems, which include seat heaters, blowers, and thermoelectric devices for variable temperature climate control seats and steering wheel heaters that are designed to provide thermal comfort to automobile passengers; integrated electronic components, such as electronic control units; and other climate comfort systems, including neck and shoulder conditioners and climate control system products for door panels, armrests, cupholders, and storage bins. It also provides battery performance solutions comprising cell connecting devices and battery cable technologies used for various types of automotive batteries; thermal management products for heating and cooling; and automotive electronic and software systems, including electronic control units for climate comfort systems, as well as for memory seat modules and other devices. In addition, it offers lumbar and massage comfort solutions, such as lumbar support, side bolster adjustment, multi-contour seats, and massage systems; automotive cable systems, including ready-made individual cables, and ready-to-install cable networks; and valve systems products consisting of applications that offer solutions in fuel management, and other valves for brake and engine systems. This segment serves light vehicle original equipment manufacturers and tier 1s, such as automotive seat manufacturers, and aftermarket seat distributors and installers. The Medical segment offers patient temperature management systems. The company was formerly known as Amerigon Incorporated and changed its name to Gentherm Incorporated in September 2012. Gentherm Incorporated was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Northville, Michigan.