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.

Which has more risk and volatility, HPQ or ANET?

HP has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% 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.

Does the media favor HPQ or ANET?

In the previous week, HP had 21 more articles in the media than Arista Networks. MarketBeat recorded 24 mentions for HP and 3 mentions for Arista Networks. HP's average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat Arista Networks' score of 0.64 indicating that HP is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HP	17 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Arista Networks	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, HPQ or ANET?

HP has higher revenue and earnings than Arista Networks. 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	$53.32B	0.66	$3.26B	$2.85	12.88
Arista Networks	$5.86B	20.51	$2.09B	$8.32	45.88

Do analysts prefer HPQ or ANET?

HP currently has a consensus price target of $35.45, suggesting a potential downside of 3.38%. Arista Networks has a consensus price target of $395.19, suggesting a potential upside of 3.53%. 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)	7 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.18
Arista Networks	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74

Is HPQ or ANET more profitable?

Arista Networks has a net margin of 40.29% compared to HP's net margin of 5.33%. Arista Networks' return on equity of 30.52% beat HP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HP	5.33%	-266.37%	9.01%
Arista Networks	40.29%	30.52%	22.24%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer HPQ or ANET?

HP received 191 more outperform votes than Arista Networks when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 74.59% of users gave Arista Networks an outperform vote while only 60.75% of users gave HP an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
HP	Outperform Votes 1500 60.75%	Underperform Votes 969 39.25%
Arista Networks	Outperform Votes 1309 74.59%	Underperform Votes 446 25.41%

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.

Summary

Arista Networks beats HP on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.