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HOLX vs. IDXX: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in stocks from the Medical - Instruments sector have probably already heard of Hologic (HOLX - Free Report) and Idexx Laboratories (IDXX - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks offers value investors a better bang for their buck right now? We'll need to 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 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, Hologic has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Idexx Laboratories has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that HOLX is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one piece of the puzzle 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.

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.

HOLX currently has a forward P/E ratio of 23.14, while IDXX has a forward P/E of 66.20. We also note that HOLX has a PEG ratio of 3.29. 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. IDXX currently has a PEG ratio of 6.42.

Another notable valuation metric for HOLX is its P/B ratio of 6.61. 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, IDXX has a P/B of 255.35.

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

HOLX stands above IDXX thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that HOLX is the superior value option right now.


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