HP (HPQ) Competitors

HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, community ranking, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, earnings, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Does the media favor HPQ or ANET?

In the previous week, Arista Networks had 41 more articles in the media than HP. MarketBeat recorded 78 mentions for Arista Networks and 37 mentions for HP. Arista Networks' average media sentiment score of 1.25 beat HP's score of 1.10 indicating that Arista Networks is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HP	24 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Arista Networks	62 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is HPQ or ANET more profitable?

Arista Networks has a net margin of 40.72% compared to HP's net margin of 5.18%. Arista Networks' return on equity of 29.91% beat HP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HP	5.18%	-253.39%	8.83%
Arista Networks	40.72%	29.91%	21.67%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of HPQ or ANET?

77.5% of HP shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.5% of Arista Networks shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of HP shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Arista Networks shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer HPQ or ANET?

HP currently has a consensus price target of $36.14, suggesting a potential upside of 25.23%. Arista Networks has a consensus price target of $114.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.55%. Given Arista Networks' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Arista Networks is more favorable than HP.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HP	1 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Arista Networks	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, HPQ or ANET?

Arista Networks has lower revenue, but higher earnings than HP. HP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Arista Networks, 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
HP	$53.88B	0.50	$2.78B	$2.78	10.38
Arista Networks	$7.00B	15.73	$2.85B	$2.22	39.34

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer HPQ or ANET?

HP received 178 more outperform votes than Arista Networks when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 74.58% of users gave Arista Networks an outperform vote while only 60.48% of users gave HP an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
HP	Outperform Votes 1501 60.48%	Underperform Votes 981 39.52%
Arista Networks	Outperform Votes 1323 74.58%	Underperform Votes 451 25.42%

Which has more risk and volatility, HPQ or ANET?

HP has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arista Networks has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Arista Networks beats HP on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.