Contrasting Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) and NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) and NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Waystar and NetScout Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waystar	0	0	11	0	3.00
NetScout Systems	0	1	0	0	2.00

Waystar currently has a consensus price target of $29.90, indicating a potential upside of 2.82%. NetScout Systems has a consensus price target of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.08%. Given NetScout Systems’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NetScout Systems is more favorable than Waystar.

Profitability

This table compares Waystar and NetScout Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waystar	N/A	N/A	N/A
NetScout Systems	-76.14%	5.31%	3.80%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Waystar and NetScout Systems”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waystar	$791.01 million	6.13	-$51.33 million	N/A	N/A
NetScout Systems	$829.46 million	1.78	-$147.73 million	($8.40)	-2.47

Waystar has higher earnings, but lower revenue than NetScout Systems.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.6% of NetScout Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of NetScout Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

NetScout Systems beats Waystar on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waystar

Waystar Holding Corp. is a software company which provide healthcare payments. Waystar Holding Corp. is based in LEHI, Utah.

About NetScout Systems

NetScout Systems, Inc. provides service assurance and cybersecurity solutions for protect digital business services against disruptions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers nGeniusONE management software that enables customers to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems, as well as facilitate the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures; and specialized platforms and analytic modules that enable its customers to analyze and troubleshoot traffic in radio access and Wi-Fi networks. It also provides nGeniusPULSE, an active testing tool that enables enterprises to identify infrastructure performance issues and determine application availability, reliability, and performance; and nGenius Business Analytics solution, which enables service providers to analyze their network traffic. In addition, the company offers ISNG, an advanced passive network probe; packet flow systems that deliver targeted network traffic access to various monitoring and security tools and systems; and a suite of test access points that enable non-disruptive access to network traffic. Further, it provides cybersecurity solutions to protect their networks against distributed denial of service attacks under the Arbor brand, such as Arbor Sightline, Arbor Threat Mitigation System, Arbor Insight, Arbor Edge Defense, and Arbor Cloud. Additionally, the company offers advanced threat detection solutions, such as Omnis Cyber Investigator. It serves enterprise customers in various industries, including financial services, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, education, transportation, and retail; mobile operators, wireline operators, cable operators, Internet service providers, and cloud providers; and governmental agencies through a direct sales force, and indirect reseller and distribution channels. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts.