Contrasting Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) & IQE (OTCMKTS:IQEPF)

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and IQE (OTCMKTS:IQEPF) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Applied Materials and IQE”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Materials	$28.61 billion	5.61	$7.18 billion	$8.39	24.01
IQE	$150.84 million	0.79	-$48.79 million	N/A	N/A

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than IQE.

Profitability

This table compares Applied Materials and IQE’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Materials	23.88%	40.96%	22.99%
IQE	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Applied Materials has a beta of 1.77, indicating that its stock price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IQE has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Applied Materials and IQE, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Materials	1	12	17	0	2.53
IQE	0	0	0	0	0.00

Applied Materials presently has a consensus price target of $194.15, suggesting a potential downside of 3.62%. Given Applied Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than IQE.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Applied Materials beats IQE on 12 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits. This segment also offers various technologies, including epitaxy, ion implantation, oxidation/nitridation, rapid thermal processing, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, electrochemical deposition, atomic layer deposition, etching, and selective deposition and removal, as well as metrology and inspection tools. The Applied Global Services segment provides integrated solutions to optimize equipment and fab performance and productivity comprising spares, upgrades, services, remanufactured earlier generation equipment, and factory automation software for semiconductor, display, and other products. The Display and Adjacent Markets segment offers products for manufacturing liquid crystal displays; organic light-emitting diodes; and other display technologies for TVs, monitors, laptops, personal computers, electronic tablets, smart phones, and other consumer-oriented devices. It operates in the United States, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. The company was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

About IQE

IQE plc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells advanced semiconductor materials. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Photonics, and CMOS++. The company manufactures and sells compound semiconductor materials for the wireless market which includes radio frequency devices for wireless communications, and photonics market, that includes applications that transmit and sense visible and infrared lights, as well as advanced semiconductor materials related to silicon. It operates in the United States, rest of the Americas, France, Germany, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the People's Republic of China, Japan, Taiwan, and rest of the Asia-Pacific. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Cardiff, the United Kingdom.