Head to Head Survey: Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) & Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB)

Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) and Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Proto Labs and Symbotic, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Proto Labs	0	0	3	1	3.25
Symbotic	2	5	7	0	2.36

Proto Labs presently has a consensus target price of $89.00, suggesting a potential downside of 9.41%. Symbotic has a consensus target price of $65.45, suggesting a potential upside of 51.24%. Given Symbotic’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Symbotic is more favorable than Proto Labs.

Profitability

This table compares Proto Labs and Symbotic’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Proto Labs	5.44%	4.80%	4.22%
Symbotic	0.48%	1.40%	0.41%

Volatility & Risk

Proto Labs has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Symbotic has a beta of 1.97, suggesting that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

84.5% of Proto Labs shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Proto Labs shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of Symbotic shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Proto Labs and Symbotic”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Proto Labs	$533.13 million	4.41	$21.24 million	$1.25	78.60
Symbotic	$2.25 billion	11.65	-$16.94 million	$0.09	480.89

Proto Labs has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Symbotic. Proto Labs is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Symbotic, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Proto Labs beats Symbotic on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets. Proto Labs, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.

About Symbotic

Symbotic Inc., an automation technology company, engages in developing technologies to improve operating efficiencies in modern warehouses. The company automates the processing of pallets and cases in large warehouses or distribution centers for retail companies. Its systems enhance operations at the front end of the supply chain. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.