Critical Analysis: Quantum (QMCO) & Its Peers

Quantum (NASDAQ:QMCO) is one of 82 publicly-traded companies in the “Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Quantum to related businesses based on the strength of its risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Quantum and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quantum	1	0	4	0	2.60
Quantum Competitors	1062	4278	7618	358	2.55

Quantum presently has a consensus target price of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.44%. As a group, “Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals” companies have a potential upside of 19.08%. Given Quantum’s rivals higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Quantum has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

63.7% of Quantum shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.3% of shares of all “Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals” companies are owned by institutional investors. 41.0% of Quantum shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of shares of all “Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Quantum and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quantum	-80.76%	N/A	-7.82%
Quantum Competitors	-609.18%	-15.02%	3.18%

Volatility and Risk

Quantum has a beta of 2.97, indicating that its stock price is 197% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quantum’s rivals have a beta of 1.56, indicating that their average stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Quantum and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quantum	$279.58 million	-$101.05 million	-1.66
Quantum Competitors	$23.88 billion	$3.69 billion	5.75

Quantum’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Quantum. Quantum is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Quantum beats its rivals on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

Quantum Company Profile

Quantum Corporation provides products for storing and managing digital video and unstructured data in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers Myriad All-Flash File and Object Storage Software for high performance enterprise unstructured data applications such as AI, machine learning, and data analytics; Unified Surveillance Platform Software that unified compute and storage for video surveillance recording, storage, and analytics; StorNext Hybrid Flash/Disk File Storage Software for video editing, post-production, and streaming applications, as well as digital file archives; and CatDV Asset Management Software for indexing, cataloging, enriching video, audio, and image files, and workflow orchestration. It also provides ActiveScale Object Storage Software that scalable and durable storage for long term data preservation and protection; DXi Backup Appliances to build backup appliances for high-speed backup and recovery and multisite data protection; and Scalar Tape Storage that secure storage for long term data archiving and offline data protection which are used by hyperscalers and enterprises. In addition, the company sells linear tape-open (LTO) a tape drives for small business data protection and archiving; and LTO media for use in tape storage systems. Further, it offers global support, managed services, customer support agreements, software subscriptions, installation, education, and consulting and training services, as well as Quantum-as-a-Service. The company sells its products through a network of distributors, value-added resellers, direct marketing resellers, original equipment manufacturers, and other suppliers, as well as directly to corporate entities and government agencies. It has a partnership with Tiger Surveillance to deliver end-to-end solutions for long-term retention and archiving of video surveillance data. Quantum Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.