Back to top

Image: Bigstock

SNY vs. NVO: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are likely familiar with Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) and Novo Nordisk (NVO - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, both Sanofi and Novo Nordisk are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. 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.

SNY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.64, while NVO has a forward P/E of 33.02. We also note that SNY has a PEG ratio of 1.44. 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. NVO currently has a PEG ratio of 1.82.

Another notable valuation metric for SNY is its P/B ratio of 1.52. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, NVO has a P/B of 26.55.

These metrics, and several others, help SNY earn a Value grade of B, while NVO has been given a Value grade of C.

Both SNY and NVO are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that SNY is the superior value option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Sanofi (SNY) - free report >>

Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) - free report >>

Published in