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FTRE vs. PRTA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics sector have probably already heard of Fortrea Holdings Inc. (FTRE - Free Report) and Prothena (PRTA - 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. 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, Fortrea Holdings Inc. is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Prothena has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that FTRE is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

FTRE currently has a forward P/E ratio of 13.51, while PRTA has a forward P/E of 43.81. We also note that FTRE has a PEG ratio of 0.30. 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. PRTA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.87.

Another notable valuation metric for FTRE is its P/B ratio of 1.61. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, PRTA has a P/B of 1.62.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to FTRE's Value grade of A and PRTA's Value grade of F.

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

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