Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.
Profitability
This table compares Cree and Micron Technology's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Cree | -38.54% | -5.94% | -3.98% |
Micron Technology | 13.59% | 8.46% | 6.22% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Cree and Micron Technology, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Cree | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2.42 |
Micron Technology | 1 | 6 | 27 | 1 | 2.80 |
Cree currently has a consensus target price of $105.00, indicating a potential downside of 7.46%. Micron Technology has a consensus target price of $89.0909, indicating a potential downside of 2.66%. Given Micron Technology's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Micron Technology is more favorable than Cree.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
80.4% of Micron Technology shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Cree shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Micron Technology shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility & Risk
Cree has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Micron Technology has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Cree and Micron Technology's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Cree | $903.90 million | 13.94 | $-191,700,000.00 | ($0.87) | -130.41 |
Micron Technology | $21.44 billion | 4.78 | $2.69 billion | $2.55 | 35.89 |
Micron Technology has higher revenue and earnings than Cree. Cree is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Micron Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Micron Technology beats Cree on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.