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NUVA vs. RMD: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Products stocks have likely encountered both NuVasive and ResMed (RMD - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

NuVasive and ResMed are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

NUVA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.80, while RMD has a forward P/E of 32.38. We also note that NUVA has a PEG ratio of 1.40. 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. RMD currently has a PEG ratio of 2.06.

Another notable valuation metric for NUVA is its P/B ratio of 3.22. 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, RMD has a P/B of 9.62.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to NUVA's Value grade of B and RMD's Value grade of C.

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


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