Financial Review: Socket Mobile (NASDAQ:SCKT) vs. Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyPlexus (NASDAQ:PLXS – Get Free Report) and Socket Mobile (NASDAQ:SCKT – Get Free Report) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.
Risk & Volatility
Plexus has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Socket Mobile has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Plexus and Socket Mobile’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Plexus | 4.03% | 12.46% | 5.57% |
| Socket Mobile | -107.50% | -229.41% | -89.45% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
94.5% of Plexus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.8% of Socket Mobile shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Plexus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 54.8% of Socket Mobile shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Plexus and Socket Mobile, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Plexus | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Socket Mobile | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Plexus presently has a consensus target price of $276.86, suggesting a potential upside of 27.60%. Given Plexus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Plexus is more favorable than Socket Mobile.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Plexus and Socket Mobile”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Plexus | $4.03 billion | 1.44 | $172.88 million | $6.78 | 32.00 |
| Socket Mobile | $13.80 million | 0.30 | -$14.38 million | ($1.85) | -0.27 |
Plexus has higher revenue and earnings than Socket Mobile. Socket Mobile is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Plexus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Plexus beats Socket Mobile on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Plexus
Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors. The company was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin.
About Socket Mobile
Socket Mobile, Inc. provides data capture and delivery solutions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. Its products and solutions are integrated into mobile applications for applications in the areas of point of sale, commercial services, asset tracking, manufacturing and quality control processes, transportation and logistics, event management, medical, and education. The company also offers cordless data capture devices that connect through Bluetooth and work with applications running on smartphones, mobile computers, and tablets; SocketScan and DuraScan 700 series, companion scanners and 800 series, attachable scanners, and wearables; and DuraSled, a barcode scanning sled that protects phones from impact damage and provides charging solutions. In addition, it offers D600, a handheld model to reads and writes various types of electronic SmartTags and transfers data with near-field communication (NFC); S550, a contactless membership card reader/writer; and S370 product that supports barcode scanning, and NFC reading and writing technologies. Further, the company provides SocketCam C820 and C860, which are camera-based barcode scanners; software developer kits, such as CaptureSDK that enables the App providers to modify captured data, control the placement of the barcoded or RFID data in their applications, and control the feedback to the user. It serves retail, commercial services, industrial and manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and healthcare industries through a network of distributors, online resellers, and application providers, as well as online stores. The company was formerly known as Socket Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Socket Mobile, Inc. in April 2008. Socket Mobile, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.