Comparing Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) and inTEST (NYSE:INTT)

inTEST (NYSE:INTT) and Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares inTEST and Nova’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
inTEST	2.33%	5.31%	3.42%
Nova	28.84%	21.41%	11.95%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.2% of inTEST shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Nova shares are held by institutional investors. 5.2% of inTEST shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Nova shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

inTEST has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nova has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for inTEST and Nova, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
inTEST	0	1	2	0	2.67
Nova	0	4	7	0	2.64

inTEST currently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.57%. Nova has a consensus price target of $499.44, indicating a potential upside of 46.72%. Given Nova’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Nova is more favorable than inTEST.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares inTEST and Nova”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
inTEST	$128.26 million	1.45	$9.34 million	$0.12	120.42
Nova	$880.58 million	12.28	$259.22 million	$8.08	42.13

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

Summary

Nova beats inTEST on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About inTEST

inTEST Corporation provides test and process technology solutions for use in manufacturing and testing in automotive, defense/aerospace, industrial, life sciences, security, and semiconductor markets worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Electronic Test, Environmental Technologies, and Process Technologies. The Electronic Test segment offers in2, Cobal, and LS series manipulators that hold various test heads and enable an operator to reposition a test head for alternate use with various probers or handlers on a test floor; and docking hardware products, which protect the interface contacts and ensure proper repeatable and precise alignment between the test head’s interface board and the prober’s probing assembly. This segment also provides tester interfaces that offer electrical connections between the tester and the wafer prober or IC handler; scorpion flying probe test systems that designs and manufactures robotics-based electronic test equipment; and BRiZ automated test and programming services. Its products are used in production testing of wafers and specialized packaged ICs in back-end testing by semiconductor manufacturers. The Environmental Technologies segment provides ThermoStream products that are used in the semi market as a stand-alone temperature management tool, or in various electronic test applications; thermal chambers; thermal platforms; Thermonics temperature conditioning products that offer tempered gas or fluid; and ultra-cold storage solutions, including biomedical freezers, refrigerators, and mobile storage solutions. The Process Technologies segment offers EKOHEAT and EASYHEAT induction heating systems; and digital streaming and image capturing solutions. The company markets and sells its products to semiconductor manufacturers, third-party foundries, test and assembly providers, and original equipment manufacturers. inTEST Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging. The company serves various sectors of the integrated circuit manufacturing industry, including logic, foundries, and memory manufacturers, as well as process equipment manufacturers. Nova Ltd. was formerly known as Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. and changed its name to Nova Ltd. in July 2021. Nova Ltd. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.