Applied Materials (AMAT) Competitors

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, profitability and dividends.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AMAT or AMD?

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Advanced Micro Devices shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Advanced Micro Devices shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend AMAT or AMD?

Applied Materials currently has a consensus price target of $204.74, suggesting a potential upside of 7.79%. Advanced Micro Devices has a consensus price target of $147.74, suggesting a potential downside of 4.35%. Given Applied Materials' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than Advanced Micro Devices.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68
Advanced Micro Devices	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	23 Buy rating(s)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.84

Does the media prefer AMAT or AMD?

In the previous week, Advanced Micro Devices had 61 more articles in the media than Applied Materials. MarketBeat recorded 115 mentions for Advanced Micro Devices and 54 mentions for Applied Materials. Applied Materials' average media sentiment score of 1.16 beat Advanced Micro Devices' score of 1.07 indicating that Applied Materials is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Applied Materials	37 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Advanced Micro Devices	72 Very Positive mention(s)	12 Positive mention(s)	25 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AMAT or AMD?

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Advanced Micro Devices. Applied Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Advanced Micro Devices, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Materials	$28.09B	5.43	$7.18B	$8.22	23.11
Advanced Micro Devices	$27.75B	9.02	$1.64B	$1.36	113.57

Which has more risk and volatility, AMAT or AMD?

Applied Materials has a beta of 1.69, suggesting that its stock price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advanced Micro Devices has a beta of 2.05, suggesting that its stock price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AMAT or AMD more profitable?

Applied Materials has a net margin of 24.06% compared to Advanced Micro Devices' net margin of 8.03%. Applied Materials' return on equity of 40.15% beat Advanced Micro Devices' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Materials	24.06%	40.15%	22.42%
Advanced Micro Devices	8.03%	8.30%	6.83%

Summary

Applied Materials beats Advanced Micro Devices on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.