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NVS vs. LLY: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are likely familiar with Novartis (NVS - Free Report) and Eli Lilly (LLY - 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 Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Right now, Novartis is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Eli Lilly has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that NVS likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than LLY has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

NVS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.35, while LLY has a forward P/E of 61.34. We also note that NVS has a PEG ratio of 1.58. 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. LLY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.48.

Another notable valuation metric for NVS is its P/B ratio of 4.05. 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, LLY has a P/B of 50.71.

These metrics, and several others, help NVS earn a Value grade of B, while LLY has been given a Value grade of D.

NVS stands above LLY thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that NVS is the superior value option right now.


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