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PYPL vs. FFIV: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Internet - Software stocks are likely familiar with Paypal (PYPL - Free Report) and F5 Networks (FFIV - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Paypal and F5 Networks are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that PYPL is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

PYPL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.35, while FFIV has a forward P/E of 15.89. We also note that PYPL has a PEG ratio of 1.04. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. FFIV currently has a PEG ratio of 2.03.

Another notable valuation metric for PYPL is its P/B ratio of 3.25. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, FFIV has a P/B of 3.91.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PYPL's Value grade of A and FFIV's Value grade of C.

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


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