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AVTR vs. PGNY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical Services sector might want to consider either Avantor, Inc. (AVTR - Free Report) or Progyny (PGNY - 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.

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.

Avantor, Inc. has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Progyny has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that AVTR's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

AVTR currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.32, while PGNY has a forward P/E of 314.67. We also note that AVTR has a PEG ratio of 0.69. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. PGNY currently has a PEG ratio of 14.94.

Another notable valuation metric for AVTR is its P/B ratio of 6.12. 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, PGNY has a P/B of 16.10.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to AVTR's Value grade of B and PGNY's Value grade of D.

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


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