Critical Review: FTC Solar (FTCI) and Its Rivals

FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI) is one of 218 public companies in the “Electrical Equipment” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare FTC Solar to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

45.4% of FTC Solar shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.4% of shares of all “Electrical Equipment” companies are held by institutional investors. 19.2% of FTC Solar shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of shares of all “Electrical Equipment” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares FTC Solar and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
FTC Solar	$109.10 million	-$79.58 million	-0.25
FTC Solar Competitors	$2.47 billion	$148.77 million	20.51

FTC Solar’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than FTC Solar. FTC Solar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility & Risk

FTC Solar has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FTC Solar’s peers have a beta of -20.13, indicating that their average share price is 2,113% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for FTC Solar and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FTC Solar	1	1	4	0	2.50
FTC Solar Competitors	2312	5199	7250	440	2.38

FTC Solar presently has a consensus price target of $8.90, indicating a potential upside of 595.31%. As a group, “Electrical Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 44.97%. Given FTC Solar’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe FTC Solar is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares FTC Solar and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FTC Solar	-19.76%	N/A	-40.33%
FTC Solar Competitors	-372.62%	-44.70%	-7.06%

Summary

FTC Solar beats its peers on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About FTC Solar

FTC Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTCI) provides solar tracker systems, software, and engineering services for utility-scale photovoltaic projects. Its technology is designed to help solar panels follow the sun throughout the day, increasing energy production and supporting more efficient project development and operation. The company’s offerings include single-axis tracker systems, proprietary tracker-control and optimization software, and related engineering, technical, and installation support. FTC Solar’s software tools are intended to help project developers and operators optimize panel positioning, account for site conditions, and manage the performance of large solar installations.