Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) & Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) Critical Comparison

Aviat Networks (NASDAQ:AVNW) and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Aviat Networks and Cisco Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aviat Networks	0.58%	5.85%	2.49%
Cisco Systems	20.95%	30.16%	11.69%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.6% of Aviat Networks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.3% of Cisco Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Aviat Networks shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Cisco Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Aviat Networks and Cisco Systems”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aviat Networks	$439.68 million	0.58	$2.54 million	$0.19	104.68
Cisco Systems	$63.33 billion	6.79	$13.27 billion	$3.34	32.65

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Aviat Networks and Cisco Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aviat Networks	1	1	9	0	2.73
Cisco Systems	0	7	16	2	2.80

Aviat Networks currently has a consensus price target of $32.71, indicating a potential upside of 64.48%. Cisco Systems has a consensus price target of $129.68, indicating a potential upside of 18.90%. Given Aviat Networks’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Aviat Networks is more favorable than Cisco Systems.

Volatility and Risk

Aviat Networks has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cisco Systems has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Summary

Cisco Systems beats Aviat Networks on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aviat Networks

Aviat Networks, Inc. provides microwave networking and wireless access networking solutions in North America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers outdoor, indoor, and split-mount radios; microwave routers, switches, and trunking; and private LTE, virtual fiber, and element management products; and hosted software products, such as aviat design, frequency assurance software, and health assurance software. It also provides project services, which includes design and engineering, site and path surveys, assembly and integrations, project management, and install and commission; and managed services, such as network and interface monitoring, network health, onsite maintenance, and remote upgrades. In addition, the company offers support services, including extended warranty, warranty plus, provision support, and license key management, as well as instructor and virtual instructor led training, e-learning and certification services. It serves communications service providers and private network operators, including federal, state and local government agencies, transportation agencies, energy and utility companies, public safety agencies, and broadcast network operators. The company markets its products through a direct sales, service, and support organization; indirect sales channels comprising dealers, resellers, and sales representatives; and through online. Aviat Networks, Inc. company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology industry in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China. The company also offers switching portfolio encompasses campus switching as well as data center switching; enterprise routing portfolio interconnects public and private wireline and mobile networks, delivering highly secure, and reliable connectivity to campus, data center and branch networks; wireless products include wireless access points and controllers; and compute portfolio including the cisco unified computing system, hyperflex, and software management capabilities, which combine computing, networking, and storage infrastructure management and virtualization. In addition, it provides Internet for the future product consists of routed optical networking, 5G, silicon, and optics solutions; collaboration products, such as meetings, collaboration devices, calling, contact center, and communication platform as a service; end-to-end security product consists of network security, cloud security, security endpoints, unified threat management, and zero trust; and optimized application experiences products including full stack observability and network assurance. Further, the company offers a range of service and support options for its customers, including technical support and advanced services and advisory services. It serves businesses of various sizes, public institutions, governments, and service providers. The company sells its products and services directly, as well as through systems integrators, service providers, other resellers, and distributors. Cisco Systems, Inc. has strategic alliances with other companies. Cisco Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.