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JNPR vs. IDCC: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Wireless Equipment sector have probably already heard of Juniper Networks (JNPR - Free Report) and InterDigital (IDCC - 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.

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.

Currently, both Juniper Networks and InterDigital are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). This means that both companies have witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

JNPR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 16.33, while IDCC has a forward P/E of 76.70. We also note that JNPR has a PEG ratio of 1.94. 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. IDCC currently has a PEG ratio of 5.11.

Another notable valuation metric for JNPR is its P/B ratio of 2.11. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, IDCC has a P/B of 2.97.

Based on these metrics and many more, JNPR holds a Value grade of B, while IDCC has a Value grade of D.

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


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Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR) - free report >>

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