NetApp (NTAP) Competitors

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) 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 profitability, valuation, risk, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Which has more volatility and risk, AMAT or NTAP?

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

Is AMAT or NTAP 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
Applied Materials	24.06%	40.15%	22.42%
NetApp	18.05%	126.96%	12.84%

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

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of NetApp shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of NetApp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, AMAT or NTAP?

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
Applied Materials	$27.18B	5.62	$7.18B	$8.22	23.17
NetApp	$6.57B	3.30	$1.19B	$5.68	19.08

Is AMAT or NTAP a better dividend stock?

Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. NetApp pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Applied Materials pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NetApp pays out 36.6% 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. Applied Materials has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years and NetApp has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Do analysts recommend AMAT or NTAP?

Applied Materials currently has a consensus target price of $204.74, suggesting a potential upside of 7.51%. NetApp has a consensus target price of $118.86, suggesting a potential upside of 9.68%. Given NetApp's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NetApp is more favorable than Applied Materials.

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
NetApp	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.31

Does the media refer more to AMAT or NTAP?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 23 more articles in the media than NetApp. MarketBeat recorded 45 mentions for Applied Materials and 22 mentions for NetApp. Applied Materials' average media sentiment score of 1.18 beat NetApp's score of 1.11 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	35 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
NetApp	14 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Applied Materials beats NetApp on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.