Critical Survey: Calix (NYSE:CALX) & Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI)

Calix (NYSE:CALX) and Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Calix and Motorola Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Calix	4.61%	6.17%	4.90%
Motorola Solutions	17.44%	98.22%	12.87%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.1% of Calix shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.2% of Motorola Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 17.4% of Calix shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Motorola Solutions shares are held 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 Calix and Motorola Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Calix	$1.00 billion	2.34	$17.88 million	$0.74	50.21
Motorola Solutions	$11.68 billion	6.29	$2.15 billion	$12.70	34.97

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Calix and Motorola Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Calix	0	2	7	0	2.78
Motorola Solutions	0	1	11	1	3.00

Calix currently has a consensus target price of $63.86, indicating a potential upside of 71.88%. Motorola Solutions has a consensus target price of $530.10, indicating a potential upside of 19.37%. Given Calix’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Calix is more favorable than Motorola Solutions.

Volatility & Risk

Calix has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Motorola Solutions has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Motorola Solutions beats Calix on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Calix

Calix, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of cloud and software platforms, and systems and services in the United States, rest of Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Its cloud and software platforms, and systems and services enable broadband service providers (BSPs) to provide a range of services. The company provides Calix Cloud platform, a role-based analytics platform comprising Calix Engagement Cloud, Calix Service Cloud, and Calix Operations Cloud, which are configurable to display role-based insights and enable BSPs to anticipate and target new revenue-generating services and applications through mobile application, such as CommandIQ for residents and CommandWorx for businesses; Calix Intelligent Access EDGE, an access network solution for automated and intelligent networks; and Calix Revenue EDGE, a premises solution for subscriber managed services. It also offers SmartLife managed services, including SmartHome managed services and applications to enhance, operate and secure the connected experience of subscribers in their home; SmartTown managed services that reimagine community Wi-Fi as a ubiquitous, secure, and managed experience across a BSP's footprint; and SmartBiz managed services that address the business networking and productivity needs of business owners with an all-in-one managed service. In addition, the company provides Wi-Fi systems under GigaSpire and GigaPro brands to be ready for deployment as a complete subscriber experience solution for BSP's residential and business subscribers. It offers its products through its direct sales force and resellers. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc. provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce. Its land mobile radio communications, and video security and access control devices include two-way portable and vehicle-mounted radios, fixed video cameras, and accessories; communications network core and central processing software, base stations, consoles, and repeaters; and video analytics, network video management hardware and software, and access control solutions. The Software and Services segment provides public safety and enterprise command center, unified communications applications, mobile video equipment, and video software solutions; repair, technical support, and maintenance services; and monitoring, software updates, and cybersecurity services to government, public safety, and commercial communications networks. It serves hospitality; manufacturing; military and defence; public safety; mining; oil and gas; transportation and logistics; utilities industries. The company was formerly known as Motorola, Inc. and changed its name to Motorola Solutions, Inc. in January 2011. Motorola Solutions, Inc. was founded in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.