Critical Comparison: Qualstar (OTCMKTS:QBAKD) and Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL)

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) and Qualstar (OTCMKTS:QBAKD) are both technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Dell Technologies has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Qualstar has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

76.4% of Dell Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 41.5% of Dell Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.5% of Qualstar shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Dell Technologies and Qualstar’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dell Technologies	6.28%	-366.90%	8.65%
Qualstar	1.06%	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dell Technologies and Qualstar”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dell Technologies	$113.54 billion	2.60	$5.94 billion	$12.59	36.16
Qualstar	$6.59 million	0.99	$70,000.00	N/A	N/A

Dell Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Qualstar.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Dell Technologies and Qualstar, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dell Technologies	1	9	20	1	2.68
Qualstar	0	0	0	0	0.00

Dell Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $485.24, indicating a potential upside of 6.59%. Given Dell Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Dell Technologies is more favorable than Qualstar.

Summary

Dell Technologies beats Qualstar on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG). The ISG segment provides modern and traditional storage solutions, including all-flash arrays, scale-out file, object platforms, hyper-converged infrastructure, and software-defined storage; and general-purpose and AI-optimized servers. This segment also offers networking products and services comprising wide area network infrastructure, data center and edge networking switches, and cables and optics that help its business customers to transform and modernize their infrastructure, mobilize and enrich end-user experiences, and accelerate business applications and processes; software and peripherals; and consulting, support, and deployment services. The CSG segment provides desktops, workstations, and notebooks; displays, docking stations, keyboards, mice, webcam, and audio devices; and third-party software and peripherals, as well as configuration, support and deployment, and extended warranty services. It is involved in cybersecurity technology-driven security solutions to prevent security breaches, detect malicious activity, respond rapidly when a security breach occurs, and identify emerging threats; originating, collecting, and servicing customer financing arrangements; and the resale of VMware products and services. The company serves enterprises, public institutions, and small and medium-sized businesses through its direct sales channel, value-added resellers, system integrators, distributors, and retailers. The company was formerly known as Denali Holding Inc. and changed its name to Dell Technologies Inc. in August 2016. Dell Technologies Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas.

About Qualstar

Qualstar Corporation engages in power solutions and data storage systems businesses worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Power Solutions and Data Storage Systems. It provides data storage systems under the Qualstar brand and power solutions under the N2Power brand. The company designs, manufactures, and sells switching power supplies that are used to convert AC line voltage to DC voltages; or DC voltages to other DC voltages for use in various electronic equipment, such as telecommunications equipment, machine tools, routers, switches, wireless systems, and gaming devices. It also supports and sells data storage devices used to store, retrieve, and manage electronic data primarily in network computing environments. The company serves original equipment manufacturers, information technology departments, and lower and middle market companies through distributor and reseller network, distributors, and independent outside sales representatives. Qualstar Corporation was founded in 1984 and is based in Camarillo, California.