Contrasting Emeren Group (NYSE:SOL) & Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI)

Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI) and Emeren Group (NYSE:SOL) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ascent Solar Technologies and Emeren Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Solar Technologies	$40,000.00	151.74	-$9.13 million	N/A	N/A
Emeren Group	$92.07 million	1.05	-$12.48 million	($0.08)	-23.56

Ascent Solar Technologies has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Emeren Group.

Volatility and Risk

Ascent Solar Technologies has a beta of 2.37, meaning that its stock price is 137% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Emeren Group has a beta of 2.01, meaning that its stock price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.6% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.1% of Emeren Group shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.3% of Emeren Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ascent Solar Technologies and Emeren Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Solar Technologies	N/A	-216.56%	-98.27%
Emeren Group	-5.77%	-1.16%	-0.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Ascent Solar Technologies and Emeren Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascent Solar Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
Emeren Group	1	0	2	0	2.33

Emeren Group has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 165.25%. Given Emeren Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Emeren Group is more favorable than Ascent Solar Technologies.

Summary

Emeren Group beats Ascent Solar Technologies on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ascent Solar Technologies

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a solar technology company, engages in the manufacture and sale of photovoltaic solar modules in the United States. The company markets and sells its products through OEMs, system integrators, distributors, retailers, and value-added resellers. It serves agrivoltaics, aerospace, satellites, near earth orbiting vehicles, and fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.

About Emeren Group

Emeren Group Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, develops, builds, and sells solar power projects. It owns and operates 3-gigawatt pipeline of projects and independent power producer assets, as well as a 10-gigawatt pipeline of storage pipeline. The company develops community solar gardens; and sells project rights. In addition, it engages in engineering design; procurement of solar modules; balance-of-system components and other components; and construction contracting and management services. Further, the company generates and sells electricity. It operates in China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, and Hungary. The company was formerly known as ReneSola Ltd and changed its name to Emeren Group Ltd in January 2023. Emeren Group Ltd was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.