Back to top

Image: Bigstock

SNY or LLY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors with an interest in Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks have likely encountered both Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) and Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Sanofi is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Eli Lilly has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that SNY has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

SNY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 11.36, while LLY has a forward P/E of 47.28. We also note that SNY has a PEG ratio of 1.12. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. LLY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.39.

Another notable valuation metric for SNY is its P/B ratio of 1.62. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, LLY has a P/B of 34.30.

Based on these metrics and many more, SNY holds a Value grade of A, while LLY has a Value grade of F.

SNY has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than LLY, so it seems like value investors will conclude that SNY is the superior option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Sanofi (SNY) - free report >>

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) - free report >>

Published in