Comparing Enovix (NASDAQ:ENVX) & Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC)

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) and Enovix (NASDAQ:ENVX) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Preformed Line Products and Enovix, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Preformed Line Products	0	0	1	1	3.50
Enovix	2	3	6	1	2.50

Preformed Line Products currently has a consensus price target of $275.00, indicating a potential downside of 26.74%. Enovix has a consensus price target of $10.77, indicating a potential upside of 341.51%. Given Enovix’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Enovix is more favorable than Preformed Line Products.

Profitability

This table compares Preformed Line Products and Enovix’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Preformed Line Products	5.82%	10.64%	7.65%
Enovix	-473.89%	-64.50%	-19.31%

Volatility and Risk

Preformed Line Products has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Enovix has a beta of 2.49, suggesting that its stock price is 149% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Preformed Line Products and Enovix”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Preformed Line Products	$669.34 million	2.74	$35.28 million	$8.88	42.27
Enovix	$31.82 million	16.83	-$156.74 million	($0.81)	-3.01

Preformed Line Products has higher revenue and earnings than Enovix. Enovix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Preformed Line Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.2% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.9% of Enovix shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.0% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.7% of Enovix shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Preformed Line Products beats Enovix on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Preformed Line Products

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices. It also provides rugged outside plant closures to protect and support wireline and wireless networks, such as copper cable or fiber optic cable from moisture, environmental hazards, and other contaminants; and hardware assemblies, pole line hardware, plastic products, cable dynamics/vibration solutions, interior/exterior connectors, tools, and urethane solutions that are used by energy, renewable energy, communications, cable, and special industries for various applications. The company serves public and private energy utilities and communication companies, cable operators, governmental agencies, contractors and subcontractors, distributors, and value-added resellers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It markets its products through a direct sales force, as well as through manufacturing representatives. Preformed Line Products Company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.

About Enovix

Enovix Corporation designs develops and manufactures silicon-anode lithium-ion batteries. It serves wearables and IoT, smartphone, laptops and tablets, industrial and medical, and electric vehicles industries. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.