A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) versus Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Financial Review

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and A10 Networks (NYSE:ATEN) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Autodesk and A10 Networks, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autodesk	0	6	24	1	2.84
A10 Networks	0	5	2	0	2.29

Autodesk presently has a consensus price target of $321.19, indicating a potential upside of 32.93%. A10 Networks has a consensus price target of $30.88, indicating a potential upside of 24.51%. Given Autodesk’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Autodesk is more favorable than A10 Networks.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autodesk	21.08%	58.63%	15.10%
A10 Networks	13.85%	23.63%	8.09%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Autodesk and A10 Networks”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autodesk	$7.21 billion	7.01	$1.12 billion	$7.73	31.26
A10 Networks	$290.56 million	6.20	$42.14 million	$0.60	41.33

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

Risk and Volatility

Autodesk has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, A10 Networks has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.2% of Autodesk shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.6% of A10 Networks shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Autodesk shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of A10 Networks shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Autodesk beats A10 Networks on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries. It also provides Inventor tools for 3D mechanical design, simulation, analysis, tooling, visualization, and documentation; Vault, a data management software to manage data in one central location, accelerate design processes, and streamline internal/external collaboration; Maya and 3ds Max software products that offer 3D modeling, animation, effects, rendering, and compositing solutions; and ShotGrid, a cloud-based software for review and production tracking in the media and entertainment industry. It sells its products and services to customers directly, as well as through a network of resellers and distributors. Autodesk, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About A10 Networks

A10 Networks, Inc. provides networking solutions in the Americas, Japan, rest of Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers Thunder Application Delivery Controller that provides advanced server load balancing; Thunder Carrier Grade Networking, which provides standards-compliant address and protocol translation services between varying types of internet protocol addresses; Thunder Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Insight that decrypts SSL-encrypted traffic and forwards it to a third-party security device for deep packet inspection; and Thunder Convergent Firewall, which addresses multiple critical security capabilities in one package. It also provides intelligent management and automation tool comprising harmony controller that provides intelligent management, automation, and analytics for secure application delivery. In addition, the company offers A10 Defend Threat Control, a standalone SaaS platform; A10 Defend Orchestrator provides a centralized point of control for seamless distributed denial of service (DDoS) defense management and execution; A10 Defend Detector, a Netflow, Sflow, IPFIX-based DDoS detector used to easily manage the scale and heterogenous nature of SP networks; and A10 Defend Mitigator, a precision, automated, scalable, and intelligent DDoS mitigation solution. It delivers its solutions in optimized hardware appliances, bare metal software, containerized software, virtual appliances, and cloud-native software forms. The company serves cloud providers; cloud, telecommunications, and multiple system and cable service providers; government organizations; and enterprises in the telecommunications, technology, industrial, government, retail, financial, gaming, and education industries. It markets its products through sales organizations; and distribution channel partners, such as distributors, value added resellers, and system integrators. A10 Networks, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.