Analyzing CEVA (NASDAQ:CEVA) and Internet Initiative Japan (OTCMKTS:IIJIY)

Internet Initiative Japan (OTCMKTS:IIJIY) and CEVA (NASDAQ:CEVA) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Internet Initiative Japan has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CEVA has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Internet Initiative Japan and CEVA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Internet Initiative Japan	6.80%	15.89%	7.32%
CEVA	-8.22%	-2.48%	-2.16%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Internet Initiative Japan and CEVA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Internet Initiative Japan	$1.91 billion	1.63	$136.83 million	$1.54	22.08
CEVA	$106.94 million	7.41	-$8.79 million	($0.37)	-90.62

Internet Initiative Japan has higher revenue and earnings than CEVA. CEVA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Internet Initiative Japan, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.4% of CEVA shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.7% of Internet Initiative Japan shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of CEVA shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Internet Initiative Japan and CEVA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Internet Initiative Japan	0	0	0	0	0.00
CEVA	0	0	5	0	3.00

CEVA has a consensus price target of $36.60, indicating a potential upside of 9.16%. Given CEVA’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CEVA is more favorable than Internet Initiative Japan.

Summary

Internet Initiative Japan beats CEVA on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Internet Initiative Japan

Internet Initiative Japan Inc. provides Internet connectivity, WAN, outsourcing, systems integration, and network-related equipment sales services in Japan. It operates through two segments, Network Services and Systems Integration Business, and ATM Operation Business. The company offers mobile communication and remote access/telework services; WAN/network services, including SDN, multi-cloud network, closed connection, internet VPN, SEIL, remote access, wireless LAN, and GIGA-school; leased line and broadband services; IIJ DNS platform, and domain name registration and maintenance services; IIJ access ID management, dial-up access, and IIJ IPv6 fiber access services; and security solutions for IIJ managed firewall, DDoS protection, and managed IPS/IDS services. It also provides cloud solutions, such as HaaS/IaaS, cloud storage, monitoring/operation, virtual desktop, Paas/Saas, solution for Microsoft and AWS, IoT/M2M, ID management and authentication, network, global, mobile, license, and specialized solutions, as well as IIJ cloud exchange and IIJ cloud integration solutions; integrated, network, mail, and web security, endpoint, security assessment/consulting, web and mail hosting, online storage, content delivery/CDN/CMS, and system integration; IoT services and solutions in the field of industrial, agriculture, energy, and IoT-oriented mobile communication; industry-specific solution; content delivery; and global/privacy products. In addition, the company offers IT outsourcing, IIJ consulting, cognitive factory, IIJ PC deployment support, IIJ PaaS solution, IIJ EMM utilization support, IIJ private cloud, network solutions, IIJ security audit, IIJ malware analysis, IIJ content management, cloud integration solution for Microsoft and AWS, Microsoft 365 transition support solution, data center service, and data center construction engineering solutions, as well as DX edge services. The company was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About CEVA

CEVA, Inc. provides silicon and software IP solutions to semiconductor and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) companies worldwide. Its 5G mobile and infrastructure products include Ceva-XC vector digital signal processors (DSPs) for 5G handsets, 5G RAN, and general-purpose baseband processing; PentaG-RAN, an open ran platform for base station and radio; and PentaG2 – 5G NR modem platform for UE, as well as for non-handset 5G vertical markets, such as fixed wireless access, industry 4.0, robotics, and AR/VR devices. The company’s wireless IoT products comprise RivieraWaves’ Bluetooth 5dual mode and low energy platforms, RivieraWaves’ Wi-Fi platforms, ultra-wide band platforms, and Cellular IoT and RedCap platforms, as well as sense and inference processors and platforms consist of NeuPro-M neural processing unit (NPU) family; SensPro2 sensor hub AI platforms addressing imaging, vision, powertrain, and applications, including DSP processors, AI accelerators, and a software portfolio; and Ceva-BX1 and Ceva-BX2 audio AI DSPs. Its sensing and audio software comprise RealSpace spatial audio software package; WhisPro speech recognition; ClearVox, a voice front-end software package for voice-enabled devices; and CDNN, a neural network graph compiler that enables AI developers to automatically compile, optimize, and run pre-trained networks onto embedded devices. The company’s application software IP are licensed primarily to OEMs who embed it in their system on chip designs. It delivers AI DSPs and NPUs in the form of a hardware description language definition; and offers development platforms, software development kits, and software debug tools, which facilitate system design, debug, and software development. The company licenses its technology through a direct sales force. CEVA, Inc. was formerly known as ParthusCeva, Inc. and changed its name to CEVA, Inc. in December 2003. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.