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NVS or LLY: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?

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Investors looking for stocks in the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals sector might want to consider either Novartis (NVS - Free Report) or Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.

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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Currently, both Novartis and Eli Lilly are holding a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors also tend to look at a number of traditional, tried-and-true figures to help them find stocks 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.

NVS currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.83, while LLY has a forward P/E of 58.94. We also note that NVS has a PEG ratio of 1.73. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. LLY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.95.

Another notable valuation metric for NVS is its P/B ratio of 5.78. 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, LLY has a P/B of 66.67.

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

Both NVS and LLY are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that NVS is the superior value option right now.


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