Head-To-Head Review: Cheetah Mobile (NYSE:CMCM) versus A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN)

Cheetah Mobile (NYSE:CMCM) and A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) are both technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.4% of Cheetah Mobile shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.6% of A10 Networks shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.1% of Cheetah Mobile shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of A10 Networks shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cheetah Mobile and A10 Networks”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cheetah Mobile	$164.51 million	0.41	-$36.85 million	($1.51)	-1.49
A10 Networks	$290.56 million	7.26	$42.14 million	$0.66	44.38

A10 Networks has higher revenue and earnings than Cheetah Mobile. Cheetah Mobile is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than A10 Networks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Cheetah Mobile and A10 Networks, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cheetah Mobile	1	0	0	0	1.00
A10 Networks	0	5	2	0	2.29

A10 Networks has a consensus price target of $30.38, indicating a potential upside of 3.70%. Given A10 Networks’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe A10 Networks is more favorable than Cheetah Mobile.

Profitability

This table compares Cheetah Mobile and A10 Networks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cheetah Mobile	-28.11%	-8.54%	-3.22%
A10 Networks	14.66%	25.35%	8.79%

Volatility & Risk

Cheetah Mobile has a beta of 1.9, suggesting that its stock price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, A10 Networks has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

A10 Networks beats Cheetah Mobile on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cheetah Mobile

Cheetah Mobile Inc. was a Chinese internet company that developed and operated mobile applications and online services. Founded in 2009 through the combination of Kingsoft’s internet security business and Conew Image, the company focused initially on mobile security, system optimization and utility software. Its best-known products included Clean Master, Security Master, Battery Doctor and CM Browser, which offered device-cleaning, antivirus, privacy, battery-management and mobile browsing features.

About A10 Networks

A10 Networks, Inc. provides application delivery and cybersecurity solutions for enterprises, service providers and cloud providers. Its products are designed to help organizations maintain the availability, performance and security of applications and network services. The company’s portfolio includes application delivery controllers, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection, network firewalls, and tools for encrypted-traffic visibility and management. These solutions are offered as physical appliances, software and cloud-based services.