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LGND or ILMN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics sector might want to consider either Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND - Free Report) or Illumina (ILMN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to take a closer look.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank is a proven strategy that targets companies with positive earnings estimate revision trends, while our Style Scores work to grade companies based on specific traits.

Right now, Ligand Pharmaceuticals is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Illumina has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that LGND is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.

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.

Our Value category grades stocks based on a number of key metrics, including the tried-and-true P/E ratio, the P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share, as well as a variety of other fundamentals that value investors frequently use.

LGND currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.86, while ILMN has a forward P/E of 133.84. We also note that LGND has a PEG ratio of 0.54. 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. ILMN currently has a PEG ratio of 6.03.

Another notable valuation metric for LGND is its P/B ratio of 1.44. 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, ILMN has a P/B of 2.64.

Based on these metrics and many more, LGND holds a Value grade of B, while ILMN has a Value grade of D.

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


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