NetApp (NTAP) Competitors

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, community ranking, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Which has better earnings & valuation, NTAP or WDC?

NetApp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Western Digital. NetApp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Western Digital, 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
NetApp	$6.27B	4.09	$986M	$5.44	23.19
Western Digital	$13.00B	1.83	-$798M	$1.70	40.43

Does the media refer more to NTAP or WDC?

In the previous week, Western Digital had 5 more articles in the media than NetApp. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Western Digital and 23 mentions for NetApp. NetApp's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Western Digital's score of 0.17 indicating that NetApp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NetApp	15 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Western Digital	9 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

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

92.2% of NetApp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.5% of Western Digital shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of NetApp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Western Digital shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend NTAP or WDC?

NetApp presently has a consensus target price of $139.20, suggesting a potential upside of 10.34%. Western Digital has a consensus target price of $85.65, suggesting a potential upside of 24.61%. Given Western Digital's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Western Digital is more favorable than NetApp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NetApp	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.31
Western Digital	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer NTAP or WDC?

Western Digital received 923 more outperform votes than NetApp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 74.10% of users gave Western Digital an outperform vote while only 53.53% of users gave NetApp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
NetApp	Outperform Votes 1137 53.53%	Underperform Votes 987 46.47%
Western Digital	Outperform Votes 2060 74.10%	Underperform Votes 720 25.90%

Which has more volatility and risk, NTAP or WDC?

NetApp has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Digital has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NTAP or WDC more profitable?

NetApp has a net margin of 17.78% compared to Western Digital's net margin of 4.81%. NetApp's return on equity of 123.63% beat Western Digital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NetApp	17.78%	123.63%	13.03%
Western Digital	4.81%	8.57%	3.76%

Summary

Western Digital beats NetApp on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.