What’s the Best Small Cap Robot Stock? IRBT vs. ADEP – SmallCap Network

For investors who don’t want to invest in medical robot stocks, small cap industrial or consumer robot stocks like iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ: IRBT) and Adept Technology Inc (NASDAQ: ADEP) are worth considering. After all and if there is actually a trend towards onshoring or bringing manufacturing back to the States from places like China, robots will probably play an increasingly bigger role in the factory. Likewise and as the US population ages, consumer robots for the home will increasingly make sense. So which is the better small cap robot stocks, iRobot Corporation or Adept Technology?

What Are iRobot Corporation and Adept Technology?

Founded in 1990 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists, iRobot Corporation’s vision is to make practical robots a reality by developing and manufacturing robotic solutions to real-world problems. iRobot Corporation says its home robots are revolutionizing the way people clean with more than 8 million home robots having been sold worldwide – including the award-winning iRobot Roomba floor vacuuming robot. In addition, more than 5,000 iRobot Corporation robots have been delivered to military and civil defense forces worldwide to perform dangerous search, reconnaissance and bomb-disposal missions.

Founded in 1983, Adept Technology calls itself the largest US based manufacturer of industrial robots. Specifically, Adept Technology provides specialized, cost-effective robotics systems and services to high-growth markets such as Packaged Goods, Life Sciences, Disk Drive/Electronics and Semiconductor/Solar plus traditional industrial markets such as machine tool automation and automotive components. More than 25,000 non-captive Adept Technology robots along with more than 30,000 controlled robots are installed worldwide.

What’s There to Like About iRobot Corporation and Adept Technology?

On Tuesday after the markets closed, iRobot Corporation beat Wall Street expectations thanks in part to tighter expense controls and revenue growth. Total revenue rose 8.4% to $106.2 million while net income came in at $8.4 million verses $653,000. However, domestic home robot revenue was the real driver of iRobot Corporation’s results as its revenue rose 44% for a 14% increase in overall home robot revenue while international home robot revenue of $61.3 million accounted for 66% of total home robot revenue for the quarter. iRobot Corporation also raised its 2013 revenue guidance from the $480 million to $490 million range to the $485 million to $495 million range and now expects EPS to come in between 80 cents and $1.00 instead of a previous guidance of 57 cents to 72 cents per share.

It should be noted that in the past, iRobot Corporation’s Defense & Security business had been a drag on performance, but apparently the segment delivered solid results this time around or at least they did not drag the whole company down.

Meanwhile and back in February, Adept Technology reported that fiscal second quarter 2013 revenue came in at $10.8 million, below the $15.2 million in revenue for the fiscal second quarter of 2012 and slightly below the $11.4 million in revenue for the fiscal first quarter of 2013. Adept Technology also reported a GAAP net loss of $5.2 million for the fiscal second quarter of 2013 verses a net loss of $1.2 million for the second fiscal quarter of 2012 and a net loss of $3.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Adept Technology’s CEO noted the company has narrowed its focus, restructured its team and implemented “aggressive actions” to achieve major cost reductions. Adept Technology will release its fiscal 2013 third quarter results on Friday, May 10, 2013 at 2:00 pm PT (5:00 pm ET).

It should be noted that fiscal first quarter results were severely impacted by economic weakness which drove global cuts in capital spending leading to delayed orders and slowed customer deployments. Adept Technology noted the decline was widespread, but the most significantly impact was on customers in Asia and Europe.

Nevertheless and back in January, Adept Technology’s stock surged after its CEO appeared on 60 Minutes to say that US manufacturers can leverage technology like that offered by his company to equalize the costs of manufacturing in the States verses global competition. He also added that robots and automation may make it more likely for US companies to find it beneficial to keep factories in the country or move them back here.

Stock Performance: iRobot Corporation Vs. Adept Technology

On Wednesday, iRobot Corporation rose 13.71% to $28.04 (IRBT has a 52 week trading range $16.25 to $28.85 a share) for a market cap of $781.55 million while Adept Technology rose 5.19% to $3.24 (ADEP has a 52 week trading range of $2.38 to $6.30 a share) for a market cap of $34.80 million. iRobot Corporation is up 49.6% since the start of the year, up 14.4% over the past year and up 62.2% over the past five years while Adept Technology is up 24.6% since the start of the year, down 47.7% over the past year and down 70.5% over the past five years:

For traders or investors who are stock technicians, here is a quick look at the technical charts for iRobot Corporation and Adept Technology:

The Bottom Line. If you are looking for a small cap robot stock that will make you some money right now, iRobot Corporation might be worth taking a closer look at while Adept Technology could be a good long-term bet on manufacturing reviving in the States.