Right now Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is all the rage on Wall Street, rising more than 3% today. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), is now down less than 1%. The two companies have similar market capitalizations of around $22 billion to $23 billion. But while many investors seem to prefer Facebook, one Forbes contributor suggests that Intel might be the better buy out of the two.
Examining Intel, Facebook and the NASDAQ
To come to his conclusion, John Buckingham looks at the NASDAQ 100. Currently he says it is trading at an average of around 21.1 times earnings. But that multiple is only 79% of the 11-year average, which is 26.8 multiple. He believes that these numbers demonstrate that technology stocks generally are undervalued right now. However, he notes some “large discrepancies” within the sector.
He names four of the top 10 biggest U.S. companies in the NASDAQ as having “much more reasonable valuations” than the two companies with the highest multiples, which are Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). The four companies on his short list are Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Facebook gets love on Wall Street
So why is Facebook such a darling on Wall Street? The social network saw $2 billion in revenue and $425 million in net income during the third quarter. Intel, on the other hand, saw $13.5 billion in revenue and $3 billion in net income during the same quarter. In addition, Intel offers a nice 3.8% yield for shareholders, while Facebook doesn’t even offer a dividend.
Buckingham notes that Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is getting a bad rap right now as it struggles amidst the sinking PC business. Meanwhile, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is a relative newcomer to the market with a business model he still sees as being unproven.
Intel is the red-headed stepchild
He argues that Wall Street seems to be pricing in “substantial additional weakness” in Intel that isn’t being projected by the many analysts who are covering the company’s stock. And when it comes to Facebook, he sees the potential for tremendous growth “that may or may not materialize.”
Buckingham isn’t the only one who likes Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) right now. Analysts are starting to warm up to the company. Citi even upgraded the company’s stock recently.
