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EBS or ALKS: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics sector have probably already heard of Emergent Biosolutions (EBS - Free Report) and Alkermes (ALKS - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Emergent Biosolutions and Alkermes are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. 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. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

EBS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 25.75, while ALKS has a forward P/E of 493.49. We also note that EBS has a PEG ratio of 1.29. 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. ALKS currently has a PEG ratio of 32.90.

Another notable valuation metric for EBS is its P/B ratio of 3.36. 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, ALKS has a P/B of 5.54.

These metrics, and several others, help EBS earn a Value grade of B, while ALKS has been given a Value grade of F.

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


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Alkermes plc (ALKS) - free report >>

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