Analyzing Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN) & Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI)

Ascent Solar Technologies (NASDAQ:ASTI) and Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

10.6% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.7% of Sunrun shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.2% of Ascent Solar Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Sunrun shares are owned 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 Ascent Solar Technologies and Sunrun”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Solar Technologies	$40,000.00	793.64	-$9.13 million	($2.92)	-2.31
Sunrun	$2.04 billion	2.10	-$2.85 billion	($11.18)	-1.65

Ascent Solar Technologies has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sunrun. Ascent Solar Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sunrun, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ascent Solar Technologies and Sunrun’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Solar Technologies	N/A	-239.69%	-111.53%
Sunrun	-106.50%	19.34%	3.38%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Ascent Solar Technologies and Sunrun, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascent Solar Technologies	1	0	0	0	1.00
Sunrun	1	8	13	0	2.55

Sunrun has a consensus target price of $19.99, suggesting a potential upside of 8.22%. Given Sunrun’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sunrun is more favorable than Ascent Solar Technologies.

Risk and Volatility

Ascent Solar Technologies has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sunrun has a beta of 2.36, indicating that its stock price is 136% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Sunrun beats Ascent Solar Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ascent Solar Technologies

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a solar technology company, engages in the manufacture and sale of photovoltaic solar modules in the United States. The company markets and sells its products through OEMs, system integrators, distributors, retailers, and value-added resellers. It serves agrivoltaics, aerospace, satellites, near earth orbiting vehicles, and fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicles. Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.

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.