Head-To-Head Review: IQE (OTCMKTS:IQEPF) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

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

Risk and Volatility

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

Profitability

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

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

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IQE	$150.84 million	0.72	-$48.79 million	N/A	N/A
Applied Materials	$27.18 billion	5.98	$7.18 billion	$8.39	24.31

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than IQE.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for IQE and Applied Materials, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Applied Materials has a consensus price target of $194.15, indicating a potential downside of 4.79%. Given Applied Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than IQE.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Summary

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

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.

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.