Back to top

Image: Bigstock

ALXN or BMRN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are likely familiar with Alexion Pharmaceuticals and BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Alexion Pharmaceuticals is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ALXN likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than BMRN has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its 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.

ALXN currently has a forward P/E ratio of 12.35, while BMRN has a forward P/E of 54.01. We also note that ALXN has a PEG ratio of 0.70. 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. BMRN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.43.

Another notable valuation metric for ALXN is its P/B ratio of 3.12. 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, BMRN has a P/B of 3.93.

Based on these metrics and many more, ALXN holds a Value grade of B, while BMRN has a Value grade of C.

ALXN stands above BMRN thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that ALXN is the superior value option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) - free report >>

Published in