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Should Value Investors Buy These Medical Stocks?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

Luckily, Zacks has developed its own Style Scores system in an effort to find stocks with specific traits. Value investors will be interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with both "A" grades in the Value category and high Zacks Ranks are among the strongest value stocks on the market right now.

One company value investors might notice is CoDiagnostics (CODX - Free Report) . CODX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.61, which compares to its industry's average of 19.94. Over the past 52 weeks, CODX's Forward P/E has been as high as 19.85 and as low as 4.76, with a median of 11.22.

Investors should also recognize that CODX has a P/B ratio of 2.77. 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. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 3.93. Over the past 12 months, CODX's P/B has been as high as 8.14 and as low as 2.34, with a median of 3.23.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. CODX has a P/S ratio of 2.6. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.15.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CODX has a P/CF ratio of 6.81. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. CODX's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 20.61. Within the past 12 months, CODX's P/CF has been as high as 12.66 and as low as 4.16, with a median of 6.14.

Tivity Health may be another strong Medical Services stock to add to your shortlist. TVTY is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Tivity Health is currently trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 16.14 while its PEG ratio sits at 1.61. Both of the company's metrics compare favorably to its industry's average P/E of 19.94 and average PEG ratio of 0.84.

TVTY's price-to-earnings ratio has been as high as 20.60 and as low as 13.05, with a median of 15.15, while its PEG ratio has been as high as 2.06 and as low as 1.30, with a median of 1.53, all within the past year.

Tivity Health also has a P/B ratio of 9.49 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 3.93. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 329.81, as low as 8.08, with a median of 37.55.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that CoDiagnostics and Tivity Health are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, CODX and TVTY sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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