Head to Head Review: Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) versus Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA)

Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Synaptics (NASDAQ:SYNA) are both technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Broadcom and Synaptics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Broadcom	0	5	39	1	2.91
Synaptics	1	11	2	0	2.07

Broadcom presently has a consensus price target of $530.52, suggesting a potential upside of 62.70%. Synaptics has a consensus price target of $123.09, suggesting a potential upside of 4.44%. Given Broadcom’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Broadcom is more favorable than Synaptics.

Profitability

This table compares Broadcom and Synaptics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Broadcom	42.94%	48.33%	23.78%
Synaptics	-41.00%	4.37%	2.27%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Broadcom and Synaptics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Broadcom	$63.89 billion	24.36	$23.13 billion	$7.83	41.64
Synaptics	$1.20 billion	3.91	-$490.80 million	($12.65)	-9.32

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

76.4% of Broadcom shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.4% of Synaptics shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Broadcom shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Synaptics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Broadcom has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Synaptics has a beta of 1.96, meaning that its share price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Broadcom beats Synaptics on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Inc. designs, develops, and supplies various semiconductor devices with a focus on complex digital and mixed signal complementary metal oxide semiconductor based devices and analog III-V based products worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software. It provides set-top box system-on-chips (SoCs); cable, digital subscriber line, and passive optical networking central office/consumer premise equipment SoCs; wireless local area network access point SoCs; Ethernet switching and routing custom silicon solutions; serializer/deserializer application specific integrated circuits; optical and copper, and physical layer devices; and fiber optic components and RF semiconductor devices. The company also offers RF front end modules and filter; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and global positioning system/global navigation satellite system SoCs; custom touch controllers; inductive charging; attached small computer system interface, and redundant array of independent disks controllers and adapters; peripheral component interconnect express; fiber channel host bus adapters; read channel based SoCs; custom flash controllers; preamplifiers; optocouplers, industrial fiber optics, and motion control encoders and subsystems; light emitting diode, ethernet PHYs, switch ICs, and camera microcontrollers. Its products are used in various applications, including enterprise and data center networking, home connectivity, set-top boxes, broadband access, telecommunication equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage systems, factory automation, power generation and alternative energy systems, and electronic displays. Broadcom Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

About Synaptics

Synaptics Incorporated develops, markets, and sells semiconductor products worldwide. The company offers AudioSmart for voice and audio processing; ConnectSmart for high-speed video/audio/data connectivity; DisplayLink for transmitting compressed video frames across low bandwidth connections; VideoSmart that enables set-top boxes, over-the-top, streaming devices, soundbars, surveillance cameras, and smart displays; and ImagingSmart solutions. It also provides Natural ID, a fingerprint ID product that is used in notebook personal computers (PCs), PC peripherals, automobiles, and other applications; TouchPad, a touch-sensitive pad that senses the position and movement of one or more fingers on its surface; SecurePad that integrates fingerprint sensor directly into the TouchPad area; ClickPad that offers a clickable mechanical design; and ForcePad. In addition, the company offers ClearPad, which enables users to interact directly with the display on mobile smartphones, tablets, and automobiles; ClearView products that provide advanced image processing and low power technology for displays on smartphones and tablets; and TouchView products, a touch controller and display driver integration product. Further, it provides TouchPad with a pointing stick in a single notebook computer enabling users to select their interface of choice; TouchStyk, a self-contained pointing stick module; ultra-low power edge artificial intelligence platform for battery powered wireless devices; wireless connectivity solutions comprising Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, global positioning system, global navigation satellite system, and ULE; and voice over IP and digital enhanced cordless telecommunications solutions. The company sells its products through direct sales, outside sales representatives, distributors, and resellers to mobile and PC OEMs; IoT OEMs; and automotive and consumer electronics manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.