Investors interested in Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are likely familiar with Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (CO:NOVOb) (NVO). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's 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 is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.
Eli Lilly has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Novo Nordisk has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that LLY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. 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.
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.
LLY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.87, while NVO has a forward P/E of 17.83. We also note that LLY has a PEG ratio of 1.47. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. NVO currently has a PEG ratio of 2.40.
Another notable valuation metric for LLY is its P/B ratio of 6.46. 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, NVO has a P/B of 14.94.
These metrics, and several others, help LLY earn a Value grade of B, while NVO has been given a Value grade of C.
LLY has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than NVO, so it seems like value investors will conclude that LLY is the superior option right now.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY
Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO): Free Stock Analysis Report
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