Investors interested in stocks from the Internet - Services sector have probably already heard of Akamai Technologies (AKAM) and Zscaler (ZS). But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.
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 proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.
Akamai Technologies has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Zscaler has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that AKAM is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.
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 Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.
AKAM currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.95, while ZS has a forward P/E of 70.65. We also note that AKAM has a PEG ratio of 2.45. 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. ZS currently has a PEG ratio of 5.24.
Another notable valuation metric for AKAM is its P/B ratio of 3.19. 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, ZS has a P/B of 22.68.
Based on these metrics and many more, AKAM holds a Value grade of B, while ZS has a Value grade of F.
AKAM stands above ZS thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that AKAM is the superior value option right now.
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Zscaler, Inc. (ZS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
