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DUOL vs. COHR: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Technology Services sector might want to consider either Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL - Free Report) or Coherent (COHR - 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.

There are plenty of strategies for discovering value stocks, but we have found that pairing a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system produces the best returns. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Right now, both Duolingo, Inc. and Coherent are sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that both of these stocks have an improving earnings outlook since the Zacks Rank favors companies that have witnessed positive analyst estimate revisions. 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.

DUOL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 34.68, while COHR has a forward P/E of 56.54. We also note that DUOL has a PEG ratio of 0.74. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. COHR currently has a PEG ratio of 1.48.

Another notable valuation metric for DUOL is its P/B ratio of 3.7. 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, COHR has a P/B of 5.39.

These metrics, and several others, help DUOL earn a Value grade of B, while COHR has been given a Value grade of D.

Both DUOL and COHR are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that DUOL is the superior value option right now.

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