Critical Analysis: Energous (WATT) vs. Its Peers

Energous (NASDAQ:WATT) is one of 221 public companies in the “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Energous to related companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Energous has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Energous’ peers have a beta of 3.09, suggesting that their average stock price is 209% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

4.3% of Energous shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.8% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Energous shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Energous and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energous	1	1	1	0	2.00
Energous Competitors	3487	12290	25663	989	2.57

Energous presently has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 74.22%. As a group, “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 44.22%. Given Energous’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Energous is more favorable than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Energous and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energous	-76.37%	-28.67%	-24.91%
Energous Competitors	-1,280.74%	-126.55%	-4.15%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Energous and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energous	$5.63 million	-$9.59 million	-3.90
Energous Competitors	$9.79 billion	$2.48 billion	8.17

Energous’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Energous. Energous is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Energous peers beat Energous on 9 of the 12 factors compared.

About Energous

Energous Corporation provides wireless charging system solutions in the United States. The company develops WattUp wireless power networks technology that consists of semiconductor chipsets; software controls; hardware designs; and antennas that enables radio frequency-based charging for Internet of Things devices. Its products are used in asset trackers; sensors; retail displays; and security devices; smart home; medical; industrial; and other sensors; electronic shelf labeling; logistics and asset tracking tags and sensors; computer mice and keyboards; remote controls; gaming consoles and controllers; hearing aids; rechargeable batteries; automotive accessories; smart textiles; wearables; and medical devices. The company was formerly known as DvineWave Inc. and changed its name to Energous Corporation in January 2014. Energous Corporation was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in San Jose; California.