Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) and AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT) 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, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and dividends.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Palo Alto Networks and AstroNova's revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Palo Alto Networks | $3.41 billion | 10.14 | $-267,000,000.00 | ($1.24) | -286.58 |
| AstroNova | $133.45 million | 0.78 | $1.76 million | $0.24 | 60.17 |
AstroNova has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Palo Alto Networks. Palo Alto Networks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AstroNova, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Palo Alto Networks has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AstroNova has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
80.8% of Palo Alto Networks shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.4% of AstroNova shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Palo Alto Networks shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of AstroNova shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Palo Alto Networks and AstroNova's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Palo Alto Networks | -8.36% | -8.66% | -1.16% |
| AstroNova | -0.77% | -1.25% | -0.77% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Palo Alto Networks and AstroNova, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Palo Alto Networks | 1 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 2.87 |
| AstroNova | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus target price of $381.3030, indicating a potential upside of 7.30%. Given Palo Alto Networks' higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Palo Alto Networks is more favorable than AstroNova.
Summary
AstroNova beats Palo Alto Networks on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
