NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) & Qualstar (OTCMKTS:QBAK) Critical Survey

Qualstar (OTCMKTS:QBAK) and NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Qualstar has a beta of -0.26, suggesting that its stock price is 126% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NetApp has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Qualstar and NetApp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qualstar	8.35%	N/A	N/A
NetApp	17.73%	121.28%	12.39%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Qualstar and NetApp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Qualstar	$8.04 million	3.35	-$470,000.00	$0.41	47.56
NetApp	$6.57 billion	3.05	$1.19 billion	$5.75	17.58

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.2% of NetApp shares are held by institutional investors. 37.5% of Qualstar shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of NetApp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Qualstar and NetApp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qualstar	0	0	0	0	0.00
NetApp	0	9	8	1	2.56

NetApp has a consensus price target of $122.86, suggesting a potential upside of 21.56%. Given NetApp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NetApp is more favorable than Qualstar.

Summary

NetApp beats Qualstar on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Qualstar

Qualstar Corporation engages in power solutions and data storage systems businesses worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Power Solutions and Data Storage Systems. It provides data storage systems under the Qualstar brand and power solutions under the N2Power brand. The company designs, manufactures, and sells switching power supplies that are used to convert AC line voltage to DC voltages; or DC voltages to other DC voltages for use in various electronic equipment, such as telecommunications equipment, machine tools, routers, switches, wireless systems, and gaming devices. It also supports and sells data storage devices used to store, retrieve, and manage electronic data primarily in network computing environments. The company serves original equipment manufacturers, information technology departments, and lower and middle market companies through distributor and reseller network, distributors, and independent outside sales representatives. Qualstar Corporation was founded in 1984 and is based in Camarillo, California.

About NetApp

NetApp, Inc. provides cloud-led and data-centric services to manage and share data on-premises, and private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments, Hybrid Cloud and Public Could. The company offers intelligent data management software, such as NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Snapshot, NetApp SnapCenter Backup Management, NetApp SnapMirror Data Replication, NetApp SnapLock Data Compliance, and storage infrastructure solutions, including NetApp All-Flash FAS series, NetApp Fabric Attached Storage, NetApp E/EF series, and NetApp StorageGRID. In addition, it provides cloud storage and data services comprising NetApp Cloud Volumes ONTAP, Azure NetApp Files, Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud, and cloud operations services, such as NetApp Cloud Insights, Spot by NetApp, and Instaclustr. Further, the company offers application-aware data management service under the NetApp Astra name; and professional and support services, such as strategic consulting, professional, managed, and support services. Additionally, it provides assessment, design, implementation, and migration services. The company serves the energy, financial service, government, technology, internet, life science, healthcare service, manufacturing, media, entertainment, animation, video postproduction, and markets through a direct sales force and an ecosystem of partners. NetApp, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.