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HOLX or EW: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Instruments sector might want to consider either Hologic (HOLX - Free Report) or Edwards Lifesciences (EW - 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, Hologic is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Edwards Lifesciences has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that HOLX likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than EW has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

HOLX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.14, while EW has a forward P/E of 31.57. We also note that HOLX has a PEG ratio of 2.46. 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. EW currently has a PEG ratio of 3.20.

Another notable valuation metric for HOLX is its P/B ratio of 3.56. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, EW has a P/B of 7.33.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to HOLX's Value grade of B and EW's Value grade of D.

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


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