Head-To-Head Survey: Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) and Ideal Power (NASDAQ:IPWR)

Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ:TSEM) and Ideal Power (NASDAQ:IPWR) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Tower Semiconductor and Ideal Power”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tower Semiconductor	$1.42 billion	3.65	$518.49 million	$1.85	25.32
Ideal Power	$200,000.00	233.09	-$9.95 million	($1.40)	-4.09

Tower Semiconductor has higher revenue and earnings than Ideal Power. Ideal Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tower Semiconductor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.5% of Tower Semiconductor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.4% of Ideal Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Tower Semiconductor shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Ideal Power shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Tower Semiconductor and Ideal Power’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tower Semiconductor	14.75%	8.22%	6.91%
Ideal Power	-7,152.45%	-55.69%	-49.80%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Tower Semiconductor and Ideal Power, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tower Semiconductor	0	0	3	0	3.00
Ideal Power	0	0	1	0	3.00

Tower Semiconductor presently has a consensus target price of $58.33, indicating a potential upside of 24.54%. Ideal Power has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 144.76%. Given Ideal Power’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ideal Power is more favorable than Tower Semiconductor.

Risk & Volatility

Tower Semiconductor has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ideal Power has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Tower Semiconductor beats Ideal Power on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tower Semiconductor

Tower Semiconductor Ltd., an independent semiconductor foundry, focus on specialty process technologies to manufacture analog intensive mixed-signal semiconductor devices in Israel, the United States, Japan, Europe, and internationally. It provides various customizable process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, integrated power management, and MEMS. The Company also provides design enablement platform for quick and accurate design cycle, as well as transfer optimization and development process services to integrated device manufacturers and fabless companies. It serves various markets, such as consumer electronics, personal computers, communications, automotive, industrial, aerospace, military, and medical device products. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Migdal Haemek, Israel.

About Ideal Power

Ideal Power Inc. focuses on the development and commercialization of its bidirectional bipolar junction TRANsistor solid-state switch technology. It also offers SymCool Power Module designed to meet low conduction loss needs of the solid-state circuit breaker market. The company serves electric and hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging, renewable energy and energy storage system power converters, uninterruptible power supplies for data centers, industrial motor drives, solid-state circuit breakers, distribution and transmission switches and controls, and other industrial and military markets. The company was formerly known as Ideal Power Converters Inc. and changed its name to Ideal Power Inc. in July 2013. Ideal Power Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.