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IDCC or QCOM: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors with an interest in Wireless Equipment stocks have likely encountered both InterDigital (IDCC - Free Report) and Qualcomm (QCOM - 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, InterDigital is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Qualcomm has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This means that IDCC's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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 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.

IDCC currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.38, while QCOM has a forward P/E of 16.85. We also note that IDCC has a PEG ratio of 0.94. 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. QCOM currently has a PEG ratio of 1.35.

Another notable valuation metric for IDCC is its P/B ratio of 4.72. 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, QCOM has a P/B of 7.96.

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

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


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