Financial Contrast: Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) & Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Coda Octopus Group and Applied Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coda Octopus Group	14.09%	6.26%	5.79%
Applied Materials	24.67%	39.26%	22.13%

Risk & Volatility

Coda Octopus Group has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Materials has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

20.1% of Coda Octopus Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.6% of Applied Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 21.8% of Coda Octopus Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coda Octopus Group	$24.35 million	4.63	$3.65 million	$0.30	33.40
Applied Materials	$28.37 billion	7.95	$7.00 billion	$8.68	32.76

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Coda Octopus Group. Applied Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Coda Octopus Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Coda Octopus Group and Applied Materials, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coda Octopus Group	0	1	1	0	2.50
Applied Materials	0	13	21	0	2.62

Applied Materials has a consensus price target of $246.78, indicating a potential downside of 13.20%. Given Applied Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than Coda Octopus Group.

Summary

Applied Materials beats Coda Octopus Group on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coda Octopus Group

Coda Octopus Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, sells, and rentals underwater technologies and equipment for real time 3D imaging, mapping, defense, and survey applications in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through two segments, Marine Engineering Business and Marine Technology Business. The company's solutions include geophysical systems; GNSS-aided navigation systems (attitude and positioning systems); real time volumetric imaging sonar products; and diver augmented vision display systems. It also offers GeoSurvey, a software and hardware package for acquisition and processing of sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data in oil and gas companies; DA4G, a geophysical hardware; and Survey Engine, a software product that provides post-processing solutions for sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data. In addition, the company offers 3D/4D/5D/6D imaging sonar technology under the Echoscope and Echoscope PIPE name; diving technology under the CodaOctopus DAVD; and operates as a sub-contractor for defense contractors, as well as supplies sub-assemblies for broader mission critical defense systems. It markets and sells its technology solutions for the subsea and underwater markets. Coda Octopus Group, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

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.