AEye (NASDAQ:LIDR) versus Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) Head-To-Head Contrast

Acorn Energy (NASDAQ:ACFN) and AEye (NASDAQ:LIDR) are both small-cap technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Acorn Energy and AEye’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acorn Energy	16.12%	10.06%	6.32%
AEye	-7,786.44%	-42.98%	-38.52%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Acorn Energy and AEye, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acorn Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00
AEye	1	0	1	0	2.00

AEye has a consensus target price of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 315.38%. Given AEye’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe AEye is more favorable than Acorn Energy.

Risk and Volatility

Acorn Energy has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AEye has a beta of 2.7, meaning that its share price is 170% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

21.6% of AEye shares are owned by institutional investors. 35.6% of Acorn Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of AEye shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Acorn Energy and AEye”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acorn Energy	$9.57 million	4.94	$2.51 million	$0.61	30.89
AEye	$230,000.00	170.97	-$33.96 million	($0.87)	-0.97

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

Summary

Acorn Energy beats AEye on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acorn Energy

Acorn Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and markets wireless remote monitoring and control systems for various markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Power Generation (PG) Monitoring and Cathodic Protection (CP) Monitoring. The PG segment provides wireless remote monitoring and control systems, and services for critical assets, which include stand-by power generators, compressors, pumps, pumpjacks, light towers, turbines, and other industrial equipment; and Internet of Things applications. The CP segment offers remote monitoring of cathodic protection systems on gas pipelines for gas utilities and pipeline companies. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

About AEye

AEye, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides lidar systems for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver-assistance systems, and robotic vision applications in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It offers 4Sight intelligent sensing lidar platform, including 4Sight at Design, Triggered 4Sight, Responsive 4Sight, and Predictive 4Sight; and 4Sight for automotive and industrial market. The company was formerly known as CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III and changed its name to AEye, Inc. in August 2021. AEye, Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Dublin, California.