Applied Materials (AMAT) Competitors

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, community ranking, dividends, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer MU or AMAT?

Micron Technology received 1743 more outperform votes than Applied Materials when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 80.55% of users gave Micron Technology an outperform vote while only 71.98% of users gave Applied Materials an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Micron Technology	Outperform Votes 3657 80.55%	Underperform Votes 883 19.45%
Applied Materials	Outperform Votes 1914 71.98%	Underperform Votes 745 28.02%

Do analysts rate MU or AMAT?

Micron Technology currently has a consensus price target of $143.04, indicating a potential upside of 45.41%. Applied Materials has a consensus price target of $219.81, indicating a potential upside of 28.93%. Given Micron Technology's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Micron Technology is more favorable than Applied Materials.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Micron Technology	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	26 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Which has more volatility & risk, MU or AMAT?

Micron Technology has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Materials has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in MU or AMAT?

80.8% of Micron Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Micron Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Applied Materials shares are owned by company 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.

Is MU or AMAT a better dividend stock?

Micron Technology pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Micron Technology pays out 67.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Materials pays out 18.6% 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 is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Is MU or AMAT more profitable?

Applied Materials has a net margin of 26.41% compared to Micron Technology's net margin of 3.10%. Applied Materials' return on equity of 39.26% beat Micron Technology's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Micron Technology	3.10%	1.58%	1.05%
Applied Materials	26.41%	39.26%	21.92%

Which has higher valuation & earnings, MU or AMAT?

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Micron Technology. Applied Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Micron Technology, 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
Micron Technology	$25.11B	4.34	$778M	$0.68	144.66
Applied Materials	$27.18B	5.17	$7.18B	$8.61	19.80

Does the media refer more to MU or AMAT?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 58 more articles in the media than Micron Technology. MarketBeat recorded 101 mentions for Applied Materials and 43 mentions for Micron Technology. Micron Technology's average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat Applied Materials' score of 0.55 indicating that Micron Technology is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Micron Technology	31 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Applied Materials	40 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	17 Neutral mention(s)	18 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Applied Materials beats Micron Technology on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.