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LYFT or SHOP: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Internet - Services sector have probably already heard of Lyft (LYFT - Free Report) and Shopify (SHOP - 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.

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 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, Lyft is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Shopify has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that LYFT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than SHOP has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

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.

LYFT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.12, while SHOP has a forward P/E of 77.14. We also note that LYFT has a PEG ratio of 0.68. 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. SHOP currently has a PEG ratio of 3.99.

Another notable valuation metric for LYFT is its P/B ratio of 7.80. 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, SHOP has a P/B of 12.63.

Based on these metrics and many more, LYFT holds a Value grade of B, while SHOP has a Value grade of F.

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


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