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KROS vs. EXAS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks have likely encountered both Keros Therapeutics, Inc. (KROS - Free Report) and Exact Sciences (EXAS - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

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.

Keros Therapeutics, Inc. and Exact Sciences are sporting Zacks Ranks of #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy), respectively, right now. This means that KROS's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when 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.

KROS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 70.11, while EXAS has a forward P/E of 303.06. We also note that KROS has a PEG ratio of 2.62. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. EXAS currently has a PEG ratio of 10.35.

Another notable valuation metric for KROS is its P/B ratio of 0.81. 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, EXAS has a P/B of 3.82.

These metrics, and several others, help KROS earn a Value grade of B, while EXAS has been given a Value grade of C.

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


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