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MMSI vs. ALGN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks have likely encountered both Merit Medical (MMSI - Free Report) and Align Technology (ALGN - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Merit Medical is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Align Technology 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 MMSI has an improving earnings outlook. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

MMSI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.94, while ALGN has a forward P/E of 27.39. We also note that MMSI has a PEG ratio of 2.27. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. ALGN currently has a PEG ratio of 22.27.

Another notable valuation metric for MMSI is its P/B ratio of 3.68. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, ALGN has a P/B of 4.65.

These metrics, and several others, help MMSI earn a Value grade of B, while ALGN has been given a Value grade of D.

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


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Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) - free report >>

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