Symantec (SYMC) Competitors

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

Is QLYS or SYMC more profitable?

Qualys has a net margin of 27.34% compared to Qualys' net margin of 2.43%. Symantec's return on equity of 49.06% beat Qualys' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qualys	27.34%	49.06%	20.56%
Symantec	2.43%	14.94%	5.33%

Does the media refer more to QLYS or SYMC?

In the previous week, Qualys had 9 more articles in the media than Symantec. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Qualys and 1 mentions for Symantec. Symantec's average media sentiment score of 0.62 beat Qualys' score of 0.00 indicating that Qualys is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Qualys	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Symantec	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend QLYS or SYMC?

Qualys presently has a consensus target price of $153.23, indicating a potential downside of 6.10%. Given Symantec's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Qualys is more favorable than Symantec.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qualys	4 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.92
Symantec	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A

Which has more risk and volatility, QLYS or SYMC?

Qualys has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Symantec has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor QLYS or SYMC?

Symantec received 286 more outperform votes than Qualys when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.88% of users gave Symantec an outperform vote while only 60.09% of users gave Qualys an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Qualys	Outperform Votes 512 60.09%	Underperform Votes 340 39.91%
Symantec	Outperform Votes 798 64.88%	Underperform Votes 432 35.12%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, QLYS or SYMC?

Qualys has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Symantec. Symantec is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Qualys, 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	$554.46M	10.89	$151.60M	$4.04	40.41
Symantec	$4.73B	2.66	$31M	$1.17	17.41

Do insiders & institutionals believe in QLYS or SYMC?

99.3% of Qualys shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.3% of Symantec shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Qualys shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Symantec shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Qualys beats Symantec on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.