Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC – Get Free Report) and Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY – Get Free Report) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.
Volatility & Risk
Astrotech has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mercury Systems has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
24.4% of Astrotech shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of Mercury Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.8% of Astrotech shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Mercury Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Astrotech | $1.05 million | 5.11 | -$13.85 million | ($8.45) | -0.36 |
| Mercury Systems | $912.02 million | 5.41 | -$37.90 million | ($0.53) | -155.09 |
Astrotech has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mercury Systems. Mercury Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astrotech, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Astrotech and Mercury Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Astrotech | -1,069.89% | -59.71% | -51.64% |
| Mercury Systems | -3.23% | 1.28% | 0.76% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Astrotech and Mercury Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Astrotech | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Mercury Systems | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2.44 |
Mercury Systems has a consensus price target of $87.13, suggesting a potential upside of 5.99%. Given Mercury Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mercury Systems is more favorable than Astrotech.
Summary
Mercury Systems beats Astrotech on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Astrotech
Astrotech Corporation operates as a mass spectrometry company worldwide. It owns and licenses the intellectual property related to the Astrotech Mass Spectrometer Technology, a platform mass spectrometry technology. The company also develops TRACER 1000, a mass spectrometer-based explosive trace detector to replace the explosives trace detectors used at airports, cargo and other secured facilities, and borders. In addition, it develops AgLAB-1000, a mass spectrometer for use in the hemp and cannabis market. Further, the company develops BreathTest-1000, a breath analysis tool to screen for volatile organic compound metabolites found in a person's breath. The company was formerly known as SPACEHAB, Inc. and changed its name to Astrotech Corporation in 2009. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Austin, Texas.
About Mercury Systems
Mercury Systems, Inc., a technology company, manufactures and sells components, products, modules, and subsystems for aerospace and defense industries in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Its products and solutions are deployed in approximately 300 programs with 25 defense contractors and commercial aviation customers. The company offers components, including power amplifiers and limiters, switches, oscillators, filters, equalizers, digital and analog converters, chips, monolithic microwave integrated circuits, and memory and storage devices; modules and sub-assemblies, such as embedded processing boards, switched fabrics and boards, digital receivers, multi-chip modules, integrated radio frequency and microwave multi-function assemblies, tuners, and transceivers, as well as graphics and video boards; and integrated subsystems. It also designs and develops digital radio frequency memory units for various modern electronic warfare applications; radar environment simulation and test systems for defense and intelligence applications; and signals intelligence payloads and EO/IR technologies for small UAV platforms, as well as onboard UAV processor systems for real-time wide area motion imagery. The company was formerly known as Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Mercury Systems, Inc. in November 2012. The company was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.
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