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ASX or NVMI: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Electronics - Semiconductors sector have probably already heard of ASE Technology Hldg (ASX - Free Report) and Nova Ltd. (NVMI - 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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, ASE Technology Hldg is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Nova Ltd. has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). This means that ASX's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst 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.

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.

ASX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 18.64, while NVMI has a forward P/E of 28.97. We also note that ASX has a PEG ratio of 0.63. 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. NVMI currently has a PEG ratio of 1.69.

Another notable valuation metric for ASX is its P/B ratio of 2.11. 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, NVMI has a P/B of 6.38.

These metrics, and several others, help ASX earn a Value grade of A, while NVMI has been given a Value grade of F.

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


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