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ANIK vs. ALKS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics sector might want to consider either Anika Therapeutics (ANIK - Free Report) or Alkermes (ALKS - 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 puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, Anika Therapeutics is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Alkermes has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that ANIK likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than ALKS has recently. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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 Style Score Value grade factors in a variety of key fundamental metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a number of other key stats that are commonly used by value investors.

ANIK currently has a forward P/E ratio of 24.95, while ALKS has a forward P/E of 58.93. We also note that ANIK has a PEG ratio of 2.50. 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. ALKS currently has a PEG ratio of 35.93.

Another notable valuation metric for ANIK is its P/B ratio of 1.72. 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, ALKS has a P/B of 2.39.

Based on these metrics and many more, ANIK holds a Value grade of B, while ALKS has a Value grade of C.

ANIK has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than ALKS, so it seems like value investors will conclude that ANIK is the superior option right now.


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