Santech (STEC) Competitors

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Santech (NASDAQ:STEC) are both computer storage & peripherals companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Which has more risk and volatility, WDC or STEC?

Western Digital has a beta of 1.54, indicating that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Santech has a beta of -1.21, indicating that its stock price is 221% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of WDC or STEC?

92.5% of Western Digital shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Western Digital shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of Santech shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is WDC or STEC more profitable?

Western Digital has a net margin of 13.33% compared to Santech's net margin of 0.00%. Western Digital's return on equity of 20.58% beat Santech's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Digital	13.33%	20.58%	9.01%
Santech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Do analysts prefer WDC or STEC?

Western Digital currently has a consensus price target of $63.79, suggesting a potential downside of 3.20%. Given Western Digital's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Western Digital is more favorable than Santech.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Digital	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	18 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Santech	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, WDC or STEC?

Santech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Western Digital.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Digital	$13.00B	1.77	-$798M	$5.28	12.48
Santech	$28.02M	N/A	-$740K	N/A	N/A

Does the media refer more to WDC or STEC?

In the previous week, Western Digital had 15 more articles in the media than Santech. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Western Digital and 1 mentions for Santech. Western Digital's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Santech's score of 0.00 indicating that Western Digital is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Western Digital	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Santech	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Western Digital beats Santech on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.