LWLG vs SNPS vs VLN Stock Comparison

Lightwave Logic, Synopsys and Valens Semiconductor Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LWLG Lightwave Logic, Inc.
$4.71 -5.8% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$699.10M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
SNPS Synopsys Inc
$481.89 +15.4% 1M +5.5% 1Y
Market cap
$93.59B
P/E
71.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.88B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
8 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Synopsys leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Synopsys 8, Valens Semiconductor 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLWLGSNPSVLNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $699.10M $93.59B $168.12M SNPS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only — 71.9x -5.2x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 33.1x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +38.0% +7.7% SNPS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 14.7% -45.2% SNPS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 1.8% -34.5% SNPS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.8x 3.1x SNPS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.1% +5.5% -4.5% SNPS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.1%/yr +7.7%/yr -28.8%/yr SNPS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 118.6% 44.7% 102.8% SNPS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 39/100 44/100 VLN

Percentile Scorecard

LWLGSNPSVLN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisLWLGSNPSVLN
Valuation – 42 #55 of 94 33 #63 of 94
Growth – 47 #49 of 92 15 #78 of 92
Profitability – 46 #49 of 90 17 #75 of 90
Financial Health – 19 #80 of 99 75 #26 of 99
Shareholder Returns 4 #66 of 69 – 78 #17 of 73
Overall – 39 44
  • LWLG ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • SNPS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • VLN ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodLWLGSNPSVLNSPY
1 month -5.8%+15.4%-6.7% +0.9%
3 months -11.8%+29.0%+12.8% +5.9%
6 months -59.9%+0.1%+11.3% +8.5%
Year to date +45.4%+2.6%+18.3% +13.3%
1 year -3.1%+5.5%-4.5% +12.4%
3 years -1.5%+5.4%-20.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year -0.5%+1.8%-7.3% +23.5%
5 years -55.9%+44.6%-81.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -15.1%+7.7%-28.8% +11.0%
10 years +698.3%+725.6%— +263.4%
10 years, per year +23.1%+23.5%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureLWLGSNPSVLNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 118.6%44.7%102.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 113.7%42.8%93.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.701.694.15 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.030.12-0.04 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -95.8%-42.3%-90.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -74.1%-9.9%-52.4% -0.9%
52-week high $18.22$534.56$3.53 $779.14
52-week low $2.97$372.33$1.11 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleLWLGSNPSVLN
P/E now vs peer median —median 22.0x 70.9xmedian 46.0x -5.3xmedian 46.0x
P/S now vs peer median —median 1.4x 10.4xmedian 7.9x 2.4xmedian 7.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 12.4x 42.7xmedian 28.3x -3.3xmedian 28.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 15.5x —median 41.4x -11.7xmedian 41.4x
P/B now vs peer median —median 1.7x 3.0xmedian 4.6x 1.8xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.84 149.69median 2.30 0.49median 2.30

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsLWLGSNPSVLN
Revenue – $8.88B $71.70M
Gross profit – $6.53B $44.29M
Operating income – $847.20M -$34.09M
Net income – $1.30B -$32.43M
Free cash flow – – -$14.77M
R&D – $2.81B $42.24M
EPS (diluted) – $6.77 $-0.31
Cash & equivalents – $3.61B $42.56M
Total debt – $10.04B $343.00K
Shares (diluted) 153.48M 192.32M 103.14M
Enterprise value $699.10M $89.98B -$187.57M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricLWLGSNPSVLN
P/E – 70.9x -5.3x
P/FCF – – -11.7x
P/Operating cash flow – – -12.4x
P/S – 10.4x 2.4x
P/B – 3.0x 1.8x
P/Tangible book – 4.7x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA – 42.7x -3.3x
EV/EBIT – 116.6x -2.6x
EV/Revenue – 11.1x 1.3x
EV/FCF – – -6.1x
EV/Operating cash flow – – -6.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 149.69 0.49

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLWLGSNPSVLN
Revenue growth (1Y) – 38.0% 7.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 22.8% -8.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 28.2% 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 18.9% -11.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -23.3% 9.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -7.0% -10.2%
Net income growth (1Y) – -34.9% 2.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 8.0% -12.8%
EPS growth (1Y) – -45.2% 0.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 0.5% -10.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – – -168.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 7.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – -103.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 5.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLWLGSNPSVLN
Gross margin – 73.5% 61.8%
EBITDA margin – 26.0% -37.9%
Operating margin – 9.5% -47.5%
Pretax margin – 16.5% -45.1%
Net margin – 14.7% -45.2%
FCF margin – – -20.6%
Operating cash flow margin – – -19.4%
Return on equity – 4.2% -33.8%
Return on assets – 2.7% -26.4%
Return on invested capital – 1.8% -34.5%
Return on capital employed – 2.0% -32.3%
Asset turnover – 0.2x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue – – 20.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLWLGSNPSVLN
Debt / assets – 21.0% 0.1%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.8x 3.1x
Debt / FCF – – 0.0x
Liabilities / assets – 34.7% 22.1%
Equity / assets – 65.3% 77.9%
Interest coverage – 1.3x –
Current ratio – 1.3x 5.2x
Quick ratio – 1.0x 4.4x
Cash ratio – 0.7x 4.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.95 1.35

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLWLGSNPSVLN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -7.9% – 0.9%
Shareholder yield -7.9% – 0.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusLWLGSNPSVLN
Forward P/E – 33.1xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year – $14.56FY2026 $-0.13FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +12.8%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +21.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year – $10.20BFY2026 $84.56MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +44.6%FY2026 +19.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +12.8% +7.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLWLGSNPSVLN
Held by institutions 37.8% 92.3% 38.6%
Institutions holding 173 1,441 54
Change in shares held, QoQ +39.6% +5.6% +14.8%
Institutions buying 122 773 38
Institutions selling 30 493 7
Buyers to sellers 4.07 1.57 5.43

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

LWLGSNPSVLN
LWLG 1.00 0.20 0.35
SNPS 0.20 1.00 0.28
VLN 0.35 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LWLG, SNPS and VLN?

Synopsys (SNPS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lightwave Logic (LWLG) $699.10M, Synopsys (SNPS) $93.59B, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) $168.12M.

Which company is growing faster?

Synopsys (SNPS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Synopsys (SNPS) +38.0%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) +7.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Synopsys (SNPS) has the highest net margin (Synopsys (SNPS) 14.7%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) -45.2%). On return on invested capital, Synopsys (SNPS) leads (Synopsys (SNPS) 1.8%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) -34.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Synopsys (SNPS) returned the most: Lightwave Logic (LWLG) -3.1%, Synopsys (SNPS) +5.5%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) -4.5%. Over five years, Synopsys (SNPS) compounded fastest (Lightwave Logic (LWLG) -15.1%/yr, Synopsys (SNPS) +7.7%/yr, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) -28.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Synopsys (SNPS) has been the steadiest (Lightwave Logic (LWLG) 118.6%, Synopsys (SNPS) 44.7%, Valens Semiconductor (VLN) 102.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LWLG, SNPS and VLN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Synopsys (SNPS) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.