Analyzing NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) & Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW)

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) and Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for NetScout Systems and Light & Wonder, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NetScout Systems	0	1	0	0	2.00
Light & Wonder	1	4	6	2	2.69

NetScout Systems currently has a consensus price target of $22.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.72%. Light & Wonder has a consensus price target of $107.36, suggesting a potential upside of 5.20%. Given Light & Wonder’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Light & Wonder is more favorable than NetScout Systems.

Profitability

This table compares NetScout Systems and Light & Wonder’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NetScout Systems	-76.14%	5.31%	3.80%
Light & Wonder	9.92%	40.51%	6.34%

Volatility and Risk

NetScout Systems has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Light & Wonder has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NetScout Systems	$787.19 million	2.02	-$147.73 million	($8.40)	-2.64
Light & Wonder	$3.08 billion	2.94	$163.00 million	$3.32	30.74

Light & Wonder has higher revenue and earnings than NetScout Systems. NetScout Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Light & Wonder, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.6% of NetScout Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Light & Wonder shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of NetScout Systems shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Light & Wonder shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Light & Wonder beats NetScout Systems on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Light & Wonder

Light & Wonder, Inc. operates as a cross-platform games company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming segments. The Gaming segment sells game content and gaming machine; video gaming terminals; video lottery terminals, including conversion kits and spare parts; and table products, including automatic card shufflers, deck checkers, table roulette chip sorters and other land-based table gaming equipment. It also leases or provides gaming content, gaming machines, and server-based system; sells and supports casino-management system based software and hardware; and licenses proprietary table games content to commercial, tribal and governmental gaming operators. The SciPlay segment develops, markets, and operates social games on various mobile and web platforms, as well as other games in the hyper-casual space. It sells virtual coins, chips, or bingo cards, which players can use to play slot games, table games, or bingo games. The iGaming segment provides a suite of digital gaming content, distribution platforms, player account management systems, and other iGaming content and services. This segment also offers the Open Platform System, which offers a range of reporting and administrative functions and tools providing operators control over various areas of digital gaming operations. Light & Wonder, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.