Reviewing XL Fleet (NYSE:XL) and Cepton (NASDAQ:CPTN)

XL Fleet (NYSE:XL – Get Rating) and Cepton (NASDAQ:CPTN – Get Rating) are both small-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares XL Fleet and Cepton’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
XL Fleet	184.55%	-13.89%	-12.53%
Cepton	N/A	-15.48%	0.41%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

15.7% of XL Fleet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Cepton shares are held by institutional investors. 15.3% of XL Fleet shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares XL Fleet and Cepton’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
XL Fleet	$15.60 million	16.14	$28.79 million	$0.18	9.89
Cepton	N/A	N/A	$8.26 million	N/A	N/A

XL Fleet has higher revenue and earnings than Cepton.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for XL Fleet and Cepton, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
XL Fleet	0	1	0	0	2.00
Cepton	0	1	2	0	2.67

XL Fleet presently has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 574.16%. Cepton has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 393.42%. Given XL Fleet’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe XL Fleet is more favorable than Cepton.

Summary

XL Fleet beats Cepton on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

XL Fleet Company Profile (Get Rating)

XL Fleet Corp. provides fleet electrification solutions for commercial vehicles in North America. Its products include hybrid electric drive systems are comprised of an electric motor that is mounted onto the vehicle's drive shaft, an inverter motor controller, and a lithium-ion battery pack to store energy to be used for propulsion; plug-in hybrid electric drive system, which are fitted to vehicles. In addition, the company offers vehicle electrification and infrastructure solutions, and charging stations. It serves end-use customer base comprising Fortune 500 corporate enterprises, public utilities, and various municipalities. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Cepton Company Profile (Get Rating)

Cepton, Inc. provides lidar-based solutions for automotive, smart cities, smart spaces, and smart industrial applications in the United States, Japan, and internationally. The company offers auto grade lidar sensors, including Vista-X, a compact lidar solution with a range of up to 200m for long-range applications in ADAS L2+/L3, AV L4/L5, and suitable for smart infrastructure applications; Vista-T, a lidar solution with a range of up to 300m for ultra-long-range applications in ADAS L2+/L3 and AV L4/L5; and Nova, an ultra-small form factor lidar solution with a range of up to 30m for near-range applications in ADAS L2+/L3, AV L4/L5, and suitable for smart infrastructure applications. It also provides industrial grade lidar sensors, such as Vista-P, a compact lidar solution with a range of up to 200m for long-range applications in ADAS L2+/L3, AV L4/L5, and smart infrastructure applications; and Sora-P, an ultra-high scan rate, compact, and quasi line-scanning lidar solution that delivers high-fidelity profiling of objects moving at high speeds for free flow tolling and other industrial applications. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.