Contrasting Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) & Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB)

Appian (NASDAQ:APPN) and Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) are both technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Appian and Trimble’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Appian	-1.34%	-35.20%	3.64%
Trimble	-2.77%	12.29%	7.67%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Appian and Trimble, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Appian	2	3	1	1	2.14
Trimble	1	2	9	0	2.67

Appian currently has a consensus target price of $31.00, suggesting a potential downside of 19.21%. Trimble has a consensus target price of $81.78, suggesting a potential upside of 37.51%. Given Trimble’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Trimble is more favorable than Appian.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

52.7% of Appian shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Trimble shares are owned by institutional investors. 42.8% of Appian shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Trimble shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Appian has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trimble has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Appian and Trimble”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Appian	$726.94 million	3.78	$1.23 million	($0.15)	-255.80
Trimble	$3.78 billion	3.67	$424.00 million	($0.49)	-121.37

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

Summary

Trimble beats Appian on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Appian

Appian Corporation, a software company that provides low-code design platform in the United States, Mexico, Portugal, and internationally. The company's platform offers artificial intelligence, process automation, data fabric, and process mining. It provides The Appian Platform, an integrated automation platform that enables organizations to design, automate, and optimize mission-critical business processes. The company also offers professional and customer support services. It serves to financial services, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, telecommunications, and transportation industries. Appian Corporation was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

About Trimble

Trimble Inc. provides technology solutions that enable professionals and field mobile workers to enhance or transform their work processes worldwide. The company's Buildings and Infrastructure segment offers field and office software for project design and visualization; systems to guide and control construction equipment; software for 3D design and data sharing; systems to monitor, track, and manage assets, equipment, and workers; software to share and communicate data; program management solutions for construction owners; 3D conceptual design and modeling software; building information modeling software; enterprise resource planning, project management, and project collaboration solutions; integrated site layout and measurement systems; cost estimating, scheduling, and project controls solutions; and applications for sub-contractors and trades. Its Geospatial segment provides surveying and geospatial products, and geographic information systems. The company's Resources and Utilities segment offers precision agriculture products and services, such as guidance and positioning systems, including autonomous steering systems, automated and variable-rate application and technology systems, and information management solutions; manual and automated navigation guidance for tractors and other farm equipment; solutions to automate application of pesticide and seeding; water solutions; and agricultural software. Its Transportation segment offers solutions for long haul trucking and freight shipper markets; mobility solutions comprising route management, safety and compliance, end-to-end vehicle management, video intelligence, and supply chain communications; and fleet and transportation management systems, analytics, routing, mapping, reporting, and predictive modeling solutions. The company was formerly known as Trimble Navigation Limited and changed its name to Trimble Inc. in October 2016. Trimble Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.