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IART vs. ABMD: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors interested in Medical - Instruments stocks are likely familiar with Integra LifeSciences (IART - Free Report) and Abiomed . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive 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, Integra LifeSciences has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Abiomed has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that IART has an improving earnings outlook. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

IART currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.10, while ABMD has a forward P/E of 33.25. We also note that IART has a PEG ratio of 1.27. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. ABMD currently has a PEG ratio of 1.58.

Another notable valuation metric for IART is its P/B ratio of 2.76. 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, ABMD has a P/B of 6.73.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to IART's Value grade of B and ABMD's Value grade of D.

IART is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that IART is likely the superior value option right now.


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