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ASRT or PCRX: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Drugs sector have probably already heard of 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.

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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Assertio has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Pacira has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that ASRT has an improving earnings outlook. 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.

The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.

ASRT currently has a forward P/E ratio of 1.59, while PCRX has a forward P/E of 20.09. 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 0.64.

Another notable valuation metric for ASRT is its P/B ratio of 0.29. 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, PCRX has a P/B of 5.10.

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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