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ASRT vs. PCRX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Drugs stocks have likely encountered both Assertio (ASRT - Free Report) and Pacira (PCRX - 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.

Currently, Assertio has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Pacira has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ASRT likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than PCRX has recently. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies 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.

ASRT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 1.63, while PCRX has a forward P/E of 29.69. We also note that ASRT has a PEG ratio of 0.08. 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. PCRX currently has a PEG ratio of 0.94.

Another notable valuation metric for ASRT is its P/B ratio of 0.35. 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, PCRX has a P/B of 5.46.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to ASRT's Value grade of A and PCRX's Value grade of C.

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


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Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (PCRX) - free report >>

Assertio Holdings, Inc. (ASRT) - free report >>

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