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PBYI vs. VRTX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are likely familiar with Puma Biotech (PBYI - Free Report) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - 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.

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 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.

Puma Biotech has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. Investors should feel comfortable knowing that PBYI likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than VRTX has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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 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.

PBYI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 6.85, while VRTX has a forward P/E of 25.18. We also note that PBYI has a PEG ratio of 1.12. 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. VRTX currently has a PEG ratio of 2.45.

Another notable valuation metric for PBYI is its P/B ratio of 5.76. 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, VRTX has a P/B of 6.51.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to PBYI's Value grade of A and VRTX's Value grade of D.

PBYI sticks out from VRTX in both our Zacks Rank and Style Scores models, so value investors will likely feel that PBYI is the better option right now.


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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) - free report >>

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