Comparing Sequans Communications (SQNS) and Rubicon Technology (RBCN)

Sequans Communications (NYSE: SQNS) and Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ:RBCN) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sequans Communications and Rubicon Technology’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sequans Communications	$52.06 million	5.03	-$11.89 million	($0.30)	-10.93
Rubicon Technology	$14.13 million	1.57	-$23.28 million	($22.90)	-0.35

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

Profitability

This table compares Sequans Communications and Rubicon Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sequans Communications	-42.44%	-212.46%	-32.62%
Rubicon Technology	-410.64%	-77.33%	-73.05%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Sequans Communications and Rubicon Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sequans Communications	0	0	5	0	3.00
Rubicon Technology	0	0	0	0	N/A

Sequans Communications presently has a consensus price target of $5.04, indicating a potential upside of 53.66%. Given Sequans Communications’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Sequans Communications is more favorable than Rubicon Technology.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

34.0% of Sequans Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.1% of Rubicon Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Sequans Communications has a beta of 2.49, indicating that its stock price is 149% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rubicon Technology has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Sequans Communications beats Rubicon Technology on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

Sequans Communications Company Profile

Sequans Communications S.A. is a fabless designer, developer and supplier of fourth Generation long term evolution (4G LTE) semiconductor solutions for wireless broadband applications, with a specific focus on the single-mode device market. Its semiconductor solutions integrate baseband processor and radio frequency (RF) transceiver integrated circuits (ICs) along with its signal processing techniques, algorithms and software stacks. In the broadband data device market, its solutions serve as the wireless communications platform in devices, such as smartphones; Universal Serial Bus (USB) dongles; portable routers; embedded wireless modems for laptops, tablets, and other consumer multimedia devices; and customer-premises equipment, such as fixed wireless access modems, routers and residential gateways. The Company’s products include SQN3330, SQN3223, SQN3221, SQN3241, VZ120Q, VZ22Q, VZ22M, US60L, SQN3220, SQN3240, SQN3120, SQN5120, SQN3140, VZ20Q, VZ20M, SQN1210 and SQN1220.

Rubicon Technology Company Profile

Rubicon Technology, Inc. is a vertically integrated, electronic materials provider specializing in monocrystalline sapphire for applications in light-emitting diodes (LEDs), optical systems and specialty electronic devices. The Company’s product lines include sapphire cores; four and six-inch sapphire wafers; four, six, and eight-inch patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) wafers, and optical sapphire components. Its sapphire is also used as an exterior component in mobile devices, specifically camera lens covers, dual flashes and home buttons on certain newer model smartphones and as the crystal covering the faces of certain smart watches. In addition, some consumer electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) use sapphire faceplates for smartphones. For the LED market, it sells 2 to 6-inch material in core form and four, six and eight-inch material in polished and PSS wafer form. Its principal customers are semiconductor device manufacturers and wafer polishing companies.