Progress Software (PRGS) Competitors

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) and Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Do analysts prefer QLYS or PRGS?

Qualys currently has a consensus target price of $141.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.80%. Progress Software has a consensus target price of $73.33, suggesting a potential upside of 57.03%. Given Progress Software's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Progress Software is more favorable than Qualys.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qualys	2 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.12
Progress Software	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of QLYS or PRGS?

99.3% of Qualys shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Qualys shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Progress Software shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is QLYS or PRGS more profitable?

Qualys has a net margin of 29.04% compared to Progress Software's net margin of 6.63%. Progress Software's return on equity of 43.72% beat Qualys' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qualys	29.04%	37.19%	18.54%
Progress Software	6.63%	43.72%	8.47%

Does the media favor QLYS or PRGS?

In the previous week, Qualys had 9 more articles in the media than Progress Software. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Qualys and 10 mentions for Progress Software. Progress Software's average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat Qualys' score of 1.00 indicating that Progress Software is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Qualys	14 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Progress Software	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has higher valuation & earnings, QLYS or PRGS?

Qualys has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Progress Software. Qualys is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Progress Software, 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
Qualys	$607.57M	7.99	$173.68M	$5.01	26.85
Progress Software	$753.41M	2.67	$68.44M	$1.31	35.65

Which has more volatility and risk, QLYS or PRGS?

Qualys has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Progress Software has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Progress Software beats Qualys on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.