Analyzing PTC (NASDAQ:PTC) and Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS)

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) and PTC (NASDAQ:PTC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.3% of Qualys shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.1% of PTC shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Qualys shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of PTC shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Qualys and PTC”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Qualys	$607.57 million	7.04	$173.68 million	$4.65	25.21
PTC	$2.31 billion	7.26	$376.33 million	$3.24	43.09

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Qualys and PTC, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qualys	2	13	2	0	2.00
PTC	0	5	7	0	2.58

Qualys currently has a consensus target price of $142.21, suggesting a potential upside of 21.31%. PTC has a consensus target price of $195.67, suggesting a potential upside of 40.14%. Given PTC’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe PTC is more favorable than Qualys.

Profitability

This table compares Qualys and PTC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qualys	28.59%	38.52%	18.71%
PTC	16.95%	14.49%	7.25%

Risk & Volatility

Qualys has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PTC has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

PTC beats Qualys on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which include Cybersecurity Asset Management and External Attack Surface Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Web Application Scanning; Patch Management; Custom Assessment and Remediation; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Context Extended Detection and Response; Policy Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; and Qualys TotalCloud, as well as Cloud Workload Protection, Cloud Detection and Response, Cloud Security Posture Management, Infrastructure as Code, and Container Security. The company's integrated suite of IT, security, and compliance solutions delivered on its Qualys' Enterprise TruRisk Platform enables customers to identify and manage IT assets; collect and analyze IT security data; discover and prioritize vulnerabilities; quantify cyber risk exposure; recommend and implement remediation actions; and verify the implementation of such actions. It also provides asset tagging and management, reporting and dashboards, questionnaires and collaboration, remediation and workflow, big data correlation and analytics engine, and alerts and notifications that enable clients to detect vulnerabilities, and measure and remediate cyber risk. The company offers its solutions to enterprises, government entities, and small and medium-sized businesses in various industries, including education, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media, retail, technology, and utilities through its sales teams, as well as through its network of channel partners, such as security consulting organizations, managed service providers, resellers, cloud providers, and consulting firms. Qualys, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Foster City, California.

About PTC

PTC Inc. operates as software company in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides Windchill, a suite that manages all aspects of the product development lifecycle(PLM) that provides real-time information sharing, dynamic data visualization, collaborate across geographically distributed teams, and enabling manufacturers to elevate product development, manufacturing, and field service processes; ThingWorx, a platform for Industrial Internet of Things; ServiceMax, a field service management solutions enable companies to asset uptime with optimized in-person and remote service and technician productivity with mobile tools. and deliver metrics; and Arena, a SaaS PLM solution enables product teams to collaborate virtually to share product and quality information with internal teams and supply chain partners and deliver products to customers. It offers Codebeamer, an application lifecycle management for products and software development; Servigistics, a service parts management solution; and FlexPLM, a solution provides retailers with a single platform for merchandising and line planning, materials management, sampling, and others. In addition, it offers Kepware, a portfolio of industrial connectivity solutions helps companies connect diverse automation devices and software applications; Creo, a 3D CAD technology enables the digital design, testing, and modification of product models; and Onshape, a cloud product development platform that delivers computer-aided design with data management tools. Further, it offers Vuforia, an augmented reality (AR) technology enables the visualization of digital information in a physical context and the creation of AR enabling companies to drive results in manufacturing, service, engineering, and operations; and Arbortext, a dynamic publishing solution streamlines how organizations create, manage, and publish technical documentation. PTC Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.