Head to Head Review: Vicor (NASDAQ:VICR) and AUO (OTCMKTS:AUOTY)

Vicor (NASDAQ:VICR) and AUO (OTCMKTS:AUOTY) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Vicor and AUO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vicor	26.19%	18.73%	16.61%
AUO	3.56%	6.36%	2.60%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.5% of Vicor shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.3% of Vicor shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of AUO shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Vicor has a beta of 1.97, indicating that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AUO has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vicor and AUO”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vicor	$452.70 million	18.60	$118.56 million	$2.61	71.11
AUO	$9.04 billion	0.48	$219.80 million	$0.42	13.43

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Vicor and AUO, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vicor	0	1	3	1	3.00
AUO	0	0	0	0	0.00

Vicor presently has a consensus price target of $118.33, indicating a potential downside of 36.25%. Given Vicor’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Vicor is more favorable than AUO.

Summary

Vicor beats AUO on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vicor

Vicor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets modular power components and power systems for converting electrical power in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company offers a range of brick-format DC-DC converters; complementary components provide AC line rectification, input filtering, power factor correction, and transient protection; and input and output voltage, and output power products, as well as electrical and mechanical accessories. It also design, sells, and service custom power systems solutions. The company serves independent manufacturers of electronic devices, original equipment manufacturers, and their contract manufacturers in the aerospace and aviation, defense electronics, satellites, factory automation, instrumentation, test equipment, transportation, telecommunications and networking infrastructure and vehicles, and transportation markets. Vicor Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.

About AUO

AUO Corporation researches, develops, produces, and sells thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) and other flat panel displays for various applications. It operates through two segments, Display and Energy. The company designs, manufactures, and sells ingots, solar wafers, and solar modules, as well as provides technical engineering and maintenance services for solar system projects. It also sells and leases content management system and related hardware; designs digital signage content and field curation solutions; plans, designs, and develops construction project for environmental protection and related project management; and designs, manufactures, and sells TFT-LCD modules, TV sets and related parts, backlight modules, automotive parts, and precision plastic parts. In addition, the company engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of medical equipment; services related to site rental and educational activities; research and development, and IP related business; solar power generation; and sale and sales support of TFTLCD panels. Further, it designs, develops, and sells software and hardware for health care industry; provides software and hardware integration system and equipment relating to intelligent manufacturing, as well as software development and related consulting services; and investment services. It operates in the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Singapore, and internationally. The company was formerly known as AU Optronics Corp. and changed its name to AUO Corporation in June 2022. AUO Corporation was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.