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CTLT vs. NBIX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Drugs sector might want to consider either Catalent (CTLT - Free Report) or Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's 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.

Catalent and Neurocrine Biosciences are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that CTLT 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.

CTLT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 25.02, while NBIX has a forward P/E of 122.75. We also note that CTLT has a PEG ratio of 2.22. 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. NBIX currently has a PEG ratio of 5.11.

Another notable valuation metric for CTLT is its P/B ratio of 4.29. 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, NBIX has a P/B of 18.62.

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

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


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Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NBIX) - free report >>

Catalent, Inc. (CTLT) - free report >>

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