Head to Head Review: Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) and Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT)

Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) and Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Enphase Energy has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nextpower has a beta of 2.35, meaning that its share price is 135% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Enphase Energy and Nextpower’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enphase Energy	12.93%	25.67%	7.03%
Nextpower	17.08%	35.05%	18.13%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.1% of Enphase Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.4% of Nextpower shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Enphase Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Nextpower shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Enphase Energy and Nextpower”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enphase Energy	$1.51 billion	2.86	$102.66 million	$1.45	22.76
Nextpower	$2.96 billion	4.58	$509.17 million	$3.85	23.70

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Enphase Energy and Nextpower, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enphase Energy	13	12	5	0	1.73
Nextpower	0	10	16	1	2.67

Enphase Energy currently has a consensus target price of $39.75, suggesting a potential upside of 20.45%. Nextpower has a consensus target price of $95.76, suggesting a potential upside of 4.96%. Given Enphase Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Enphase Energy is more favorable than Nextpower.

Summary

Nextpower beats Enphase Energy on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enphase Energy

Enphase Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells home energy solutions for the solar photovoltaic industry in the United States and internationally. The company offers semiconductor-based microinverter, which converts energy at the individual solar module level and combines with its proprietary networking and software technologies to provide energy monitoring and control. It also provides microinverter units and related accessories, an IQ gateway; IQ batteries; the cloud-based Enlighten monitoring service; storage solutions; and electric vehicle charging solutions, as well as design, proposal, permitting, and lead generation services. The company sells its solutions to solar distributors; and directly to large installers, original equipment manufacturers, strategic partners, and homeowners, as well as through its legacy product upgrade program or online store. Enphase Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

About Nextpower

Nextpower, formerly known as Nextracker, an energy solutions company, provides solar trackers and software solutions for utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects in the United States and internationally. The company offers tracking solutions, which includes NX Horizon, a solar tracking solution; and NX Horizon-XTR, a terrain-following tracker designed to expand the addressable market for trackers on sites with sloped, uneven, and challenging terrain. It also provides TrueCapture, a self-adjusting tracker control system, which boosts solar power plant production by optimizing the position of individual tracker row in response to site features, such as varying topography and changing weather conditions; and NX Navigator, that assists solar power plant owners and operators in monitoring, controlling, and protecting their solar projects. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Fremont, California. As of March 31, 2024 Nextracker Inc. (Nextpower) was formerly a subsidiary of Flex Ltd.