Financial Analysis: NOVONIX (NASDAQ:NVX) and Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN)

NOVONIX (NASDAQ:NVX) and Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for NOVONIX and Sunrun, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NOVONIX	0	0	1	0	3.00
Sunrun	1	7	14	0	2.59

NOVONIX presently has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 177.78%. Sunrun has a consensus target price of $18.36, suggesting a potential upside of 108.21%. Given NOVONIX’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe NOVONIX is more favorable than Sunrun.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of NOVONIX shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.7% of Sunrun shares are held by institutional investors. 23.7% of NOVONIX shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Sunrun shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NOVONIX and Sunrun”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NOVONIX	$8.06 million	27.81	-$46.25 million	N/A	N/A
Sunrun	$2.26 billion	0.88	-$1.60 billion	($1.82)	-4.85

NOVONIX has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sunrun.

Profitability

This table compares NOVONIX and Sunrun’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NOVONIX	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sunrun	-18.80%	-5.15%	-1.53%

Risk & Volatility

NOVONIX has a beta of 2.9, meaning that its share price is 190% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sunrun has a beta of 2.59, meaning that its share price is 159% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NOVONIX beats Sunrun on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NOVONIX

NOVONIX Limited provides battery materials and development technology for battery manufacturers, materials companies, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and consumer electronics manufacturers in North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. It operates through Battery Materials and Battery Technology segments. The Battery Materials segment develops and manufactures battery anode materials. The Battery Technology segment develops battery cell testing equipment, performs consulting services, and carries out research and development in battery development. The company is involved in the investment and real estate borrowing activities; and offers battery technology, battery testing hardware equipment, and battery testing and development consulting services. The company was formerly known as Graphitecorp Limited and changed its name to NOVONIX Limited in July 2017. NOVONIX Limited was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Brisbane, Australia.

About Sunrun

Sunrun Inc. designs, develops, installs, sells, owns, and maintains residential solar energy systems in the United States. It also sells solar energy systems and products, such as panels and racking; and solar leads generated to customers. In addition, the company offers battery storage along with solar energy systems; and sells services to commercial developers through multi-family and new homes. Its primary customers are residential homeowners. The company markets and sells its products through direct-to-consumer approach across online, retail, mass media, digital media, canvassing, field marketing, and referral channels, as well as its partner network. Sunrun Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.