Reviewing Research Frontiers (NASDAQ:REFR) & Kopin (NASDAQ:KOPN)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Research Frontiers and Kopin, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Research Frontiers	1	0	0	0	1.00
Kopin	1	1	5	0	2.57

Kopin has a consensus price target of $7.15, indicating a potential upside of 88.65%. Given Kopin’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kopin is more favorable than Research Frontiers.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.9% of Research Frontiers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.0% of Kopin shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Research Frontiers shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Kopin 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.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Research Frontiers	$697,791.00	30.98	-$2.05 million	($0.07)	-8.86
Kopin	$35.04 million	19.79	$2.61 million	$0.01	379.00

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Research Frontiers	-343.47%	-159.20%	-84.93%
Kopin	5.00%	4.85%	2.36%

Volatility and Risk

Research Frontiers has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kopin has a beta of 3.43, meaning that its share price is 243% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Kopin beats Research Frontiers on 12 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 Kopin

Kopin Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, invents, develops, manufactures, and sells microdisplays, subassemblies, and related components for defense, enterprise, industrial, and consumer products in the United States, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and internationally. It offers miniature active-matrix liquid crystal displays, liquid crystal on silicon displays/spatial light modulators, organic light emitting diode displays, microLED display technologies, application specific integrated circuits, backlights, and optical lenses; and head-mounted and hand-held VR products. The company’s products are used for soldier thermal weapon rifle sights, avionic fixed and rotary wing pilot helmets, armored vehicle targeting systems, and training and simulation headsets; industrial and medical headsets; 3D optical inspection systems; and consumer augmented reality and virtual reality wearable headsets systems. Kopin Corporation was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts.