nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) vs. Astera Labs (NASDAQ:ALAB) Financial Contrast

Astera Labs (NASDAQ:ALAB) and nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.5% of Astera Labs shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.9% of nLIGHT shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of nLIGHT shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Astera Labs and nLIGHT”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astera Labs	$396.29 million	27.05	-$83.42 million	($1.73)	-38.21
nLIGHT	$198.55 million	1.93	-$41.67 million	($1.26)	-6.21

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

Profitability

This table compares Astera Labs and nLIGHT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astera Labs	-21.05%	-10.40%	-9.56%
nLIGHT	-24.16%	-19.53%	-15.91%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Astera Labs and nLIGHT, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astera Labs	0	1	11	1	3.00
nLIGHT	0	0	4	0	3.00

Astera Labs currently has a consensus target price of $109.25, indicating a potential upside of 65.25%. nLIGHT has a consensus target price of $15.13, indicating a potential upside of 93.41%. Given nLIGHT’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe nLIGHT is more favorable than Astera Labs.

Summary

Astera Labs beats nLIGHT on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Astera Labs

Astera Labs, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for cloud and AI infrastructure. Its Intelligent Connectivity Platform is comprised of a portfolio of data, network, and memory connectivity products, which are built on a unifying software-defined architecture that enables customers to deploy and operate high performance cloud and AI infrastructure at scale. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

About nLIGHT

nLIGHT, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial and aerospace and defense applications. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications. It sells its products through direct sales force in the United States, China, South Korea, and European countries, as well as through independent sales representatives and distributors in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. The company was formerly known as nLight Photonics Corporation and changed its name to nLIGHT, Inc. in January 2016. nLIGHT, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Camas, Washington.