Critical Comparison: Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) versus Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR)

Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR) and Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) are both technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Research Frontiers and Ouster”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Research Frontiers	$1.12 million	12.04	-$2.05 million	($0.07)	-5.52
Ouster	$204.91 million	12.30	-$60.38 million	($0.86)	-40.64

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

Volatility and Risk

Research Frontiers has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ouster has a beta of 3.25, indicating that its stock price is 225% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Research Frontiers and Ouster, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Research Frontiers	1	0	0	0	1.00
Ouster	1	2	6	0	2.56

Ouster has a consensus price target of $54.67, suggesting a potential upside of 56.41%. Given Ouster’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ouster is more favorable than Research Frontiers.

Profitability

This table compares Research Frontiers and Ouster’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Research Frontiers	-344.56%	-168.54%	-85.08%
Ouster	-26.02%	-17.49%	-12.97%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.9% of Research Frontiers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.5% of Ouster shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Research Frontiers shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Ouster shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ouster beats Research Frontiers on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Research Frontiers

Research Frontiers Incorporated engages in the development and marketing of technology and devices to control the flow of light worldwide. It develops and licenses suspended particle device (SPD-Smart) light-control technology to companies that manufacture and market the SPD-Smart chemical emulsion, light-control film made from the chemical emulsion, the light-control panels made by laminating the film, and electronics to power end-products incorporating the film, as well as lamination services for and the end-products, such as windows, skylights, and sunroofs. The company's SPD-Smart light-control technology is used in various product applications, including windows, sunshades, skylights, and interior partitions for homes and buildings; automotive windows, sunroofs, sun-visors, sunshades, rear-view mirrors, instrument panels, and navigation systems; aircraft windows; museum display panels, and eyewear products; and flat panel displays for electronic products. It serves architectural, automotive, marine, and aerospace and appliance applications. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Woodbury, New York.

About Ouster

Ouster, Inc. provides lidar sensors for the automotive, industrial, robotics, and smart infrastructure industries in Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Its products include high-resolution scanning and solid-state digital lidar sensors, analog lidar sensors, and software solutions. The company offers Ouster Sensor, a scanning sensor; and Digital Flash, a solid-state flash sensor. It also provides surround-view lidar sensors, which include Ouster Gemini, a perception platform for smart infrastructure deployments; and Blue City, a Gemini-powered solution for traffic operations, planning, and safety. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.