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GILD vs. VRTX: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

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Investors with an interest in Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks have likely encountered both Gilead Sciences (GILD - Free Report) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - 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.

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

Right now, Gilead Sciences is sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that GILD likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than VRTX has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

GILD currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.39, while VRTX has a forward P/E of 936.32. We also note that GILD has a PEG ratio of 2.90. 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. VRTX currently has a PEG ratio of 76.75.

Another notable valuation metric for GILD is its P/B ratio of 6.26. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, VRTX has a P/B of 7.67.

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

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


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Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) - free report >>

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