Reviewing CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) & Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK)

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

CrowdStrike has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autodesk has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares CrowdStrike and Autodesk’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CrowdStrike	-3.54%	-4.05%	-1.27%
Autodesk	16.77%	90.61%	10.38%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

63.5% of CrowdStrike shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Autodesk shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of CrowdStrike shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Autodesk shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CrowdStrike and Autodesk’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CrowdStrike	$2.24 billion	17.63	-$183.24 million	($0.41)	-403.54
Autodesk	$5.01 billion	9.11	$823.00 million	$4.04	52.81

Autodesk has higher revenue and earnings than CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Autodesk, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for CrowdStrike and Autodesk, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CrowdStrike	0	5	37	0	2.88
Autodesk	1	5	14	0	2.65

CrowdStrike currently has a consensus price target of $183.28, indicating a potential upside of 10.77%. Autodesk has a consensus price target of $236.28, indicating a potential upside of 10.75%. Given CrowdStrike’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe CrowdStrike is more favorable than Autodesk.

Summary

Autodesk beats CrowdStrike on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. provides cloud-delivered protection across endpoints and cloud workloads, identity, and data. It offers corporate workload security, security and vulnerability management, managed security services, IT operations management, threat intelligence services, identity protection, and log management. The company primarily sells subscriptions to its Falcon platform and cloud modules through its direct sales team that leverages its network of channel partners. It serves customers worldwide. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries. It also provides Inventor tools for 3D mechanical design, simulation, analysis, tooling, visualization, and documentation; Vault, a data management software to manage data in one central location, accelerate design processes, and streamline internal/external collaboration; Maya and 3ds Max software products that offer 3D modeling, animation, effects, rendering, and compositing solutions; and ShotGrid, a cloud-based software for review and production tracking in the media and entertainment industry. It sells its products and services to customers directly, as well as through a network of resellers and distributors. Autodesk, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.