Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Twitter and Equinix, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Twitter | 1 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 2.37 |
Equinix | 0 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 2.95 |
Twitter currently has a consensus target price of $61.3553, suggesting a potential downside of 8.36%. Equinix has a consensus target price of $821.8947, suggesting a potential upside of 34.61%. Given Equinix's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Equinix is more favorable than Twitter.
Profitability
This table compares Twitter and Equinix's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Twitter | -31.70% | -12.42% | -7.89% |
Equinix | 7.58% | 4.62% | 1.74% |
Volatility and Risk
Twitter has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinix has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Twitter and Equinix's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Twitter | $3.46 billion | 15.45 | $1.47 billion | $1.99 | 33.64 |
Equinix | $5.56 billion | 9.80 | $507.45 million | $22.81 | 26.77 |
Twitter has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Equinix. Equinix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Twitter, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
73.2% of Twitter shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.4% of Equinix shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Twitter shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Equinix shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Equinix beats Twitter on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.