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MRNA vs. TECH: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks have likely encountered both Moderna (MRNA - Free Report) and Techne (TECH - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Moderna and Techne are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. 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 just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

The Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

MRNA currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.94, while TECH has a forward P/E of 41.84. We also note that MRNA has a PEG ratio of 1.07. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. TECH currently has a PEG ratio of 1.61.

Another notable valuation metric for MRNA is its P/B ratio of 4.13. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, TECH has a P/B of 8.83.

These metrics, and several others, help MRNA earn a Value grade of A, while TECH has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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