Given the rising demand for advanced hardware products to facilitate remote working and learning amid the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, computer hardware stocks NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) and Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) should benefit in the coming months. But which of these stocks is a better buy now? Let’s find out.NetApp, Inc. (NTAP) in Sunnyvale, Calif., and Pure Storage, Inc. (PSTG) in Mountain View, Calif., are two prominent players in the computer hardware industry. NTAP offers storage solutions and cloud services to manage and share data on-premises and in private and public clouds worldwide. Its storage solutions include specialized hardware, software, and services that provide storage management for open network environments. PSTG, in comparison, provides technology and data storage solutions and offers container data services, such as storage, data protection, data security, and disaster recovery/backup for cloud-native applications. It also offers flash enterprise arrays for high-performance workloads.
In-part because the resurgence of COVID-19 cases is causing delays in office-reopening plans, the computer hardware industry is witnessing massive demand for its products and solutions as enterprises strengthen their remote working models. Furthermore, the ongoing digital transformation in most industries is increasing the need for efficient storage solutions. These factors should boost the computer hardware industry’s growth in the near term. Moreover, the global computer hardware market is expected to grow at a 6% CAGR to $1.18 trillion by 2025. So, both PSTG and NTAP should benefit.
While PSTG's shares have gained 10.5% in price over the past six months, NTAP has surged 42.1%. NTAP is a clear winner with 66.8% price gains versus PSTG’s 41.4% returns in terms of their past nine months’ performance. But which of these stocks is a better pick now? Let’s find out.