NetApp (NTAP) Competitors

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

Is NTAP or AMAT a better dividend stock?

NetApp pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. NetApp pays out 36.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Materials pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. NetApp has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Applied Materials has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, NTAP or AMAT?

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than NetApp. NetApp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Applied Materials, 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
NetApp	$6.57B	3.24	$1.19B	$5.68	18.74
Applied Materials	$27.18B	5.85	$7.18B	$8.22	24.09

Which has more volatility and risk, NTAP or AMAT?

NetApp has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Materials has a beta of 1.69, indicating that its share price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate NTAP or AMAT?

NetApp presently has a consensus target price of $117.79, suggesting a potential upside of 10.68%. Applied Materials has a consensus target price of $203.65, suggesting a potential upside of 2.84%. Given NetApp's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe NetApp is more favorable than Applied Materials.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NetApp	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.31
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Is NTAP or AMAT more profitable?

Applied Materials has a net margin of 24.06% compared to NetApp's net margin of 18.05%. NetApp's return on equity of 126.96% beat Applied Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NetApp	18.05%	126.96%	12.84%
Applied Materials	24.06%	40.15%	22.42%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in NTAP or AMAT?

92.2% of NetApp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of NetApp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are owned by 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.

Does the media refer more to NTAP or AMAT?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 49 more articles in the media than NetApp. MarketBeat recorded 69 mentions for Applied Materials and 20 mentions for NetApp. NetApp's average media sentiment score of 1.23 beat Applied Materials' score of 1.15 indicating that NetApp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NetApp	12 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Applied Materials	47 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Applied Materials beats NetApp on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.