Comparing ARM (NASDAQ:ARM) & BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY)

ARM (NASDAQ:ARM) and BE Semiconductor Industries (OTCMKTS:BESIY) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for ARM and BE Semiconductor Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARM	2	6	18	1	2.67
BE Semiconductor Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

ARM currently has a consensus price target of $150.32, suggesting a potential upside of 6.69%. Given ARM’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe ARM is more favorable than BE Semiconductor Industries.

Risk and Volatility

ARM has a beta of 4.67, suggesting that its stock price is 367% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BE Semiconductor Industries has a beta of 1.76, suggesting that its stock price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

7.5% of ARM shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of BE Semiconductor Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ARM and BE Semiconductor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARM	18.13%	13.69%	9.70%
BE Semiconductor Industries	28.93%	39.36%	18.75%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ARM and BE Semiconductor Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARM	$3.54 billion	41.76	$306.00 million	$0.60	234.82
BE Semiconductor Industries	$626.45 million	N/A	$191.66 million	$2.43	53.95

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

Summary

ARM beats BE Semiconductor Industries on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ARM

Arm Holdings plc architects, develops, and licenses central processing unit products and related technologies for semiconductor companies and original equipment manufacturers rely on to develop products. It offers microprocessors, systems intellectual property (IPs), graphics processing units, physical IP and associated systems IPs, software, tools, and other related services. Its products are used in various markets, such as automotive, computing infrastructure, consumer technologies, and Internet of things. The company operates in the United States, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea, and internationally. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom. Arm Holdings plc operates as a subsidiary of Kronos II LLC.

About BE Semiconductor Industries

BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and service of semiconductor assembly equipment for the semiconductor and electronics industries in China, the United States, Malaysia, Ireland, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Other Asia Pacific and Europe, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Die Attach, Packaging, and Plating. The company's principal products include die attach equipment, such as single chip, multi-chip, multi module, flip chip, thermal compression bonding, fan out wafer level packaging, hybrid and embedded bridge die bonding, and die sorting systems; and packaging equipment, including conventional, ultra-thin, and wafer level molding, as well as trim and form, and singulation systems. It also provides plating equipment, such as tin, copper, and precious metal and solar plating systems, as well as related process chemicals; and tooling, conversion kits, spare parts, and other services. The company's principal brand names include Datacon, Esec, Fico, and Meco. It offers its products primarily to multinational chip manufacturers, assembly subcontractors, and electronics and industrial companies. BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Duiven, the Netherlands.