CNMD vs. ALGN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are likely familiar with Conmed (CNMD) and Align Technology (ALGN). 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 emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.

Conmed and Align Technology are both sporting a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) right now. 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 only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors also try to analyze a wide range of traditional figures and metrics to help determine whether 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.

CNMD currently has a forward P/E ratio of 29.36, while ALGN has a forward P/E of 33.95. We also note that CNMD has a PEG ratio of 1.05. 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. ALGN currently has a PEG ratio of 1.94.

Another notable valuation metric for CNMD is its P/B ratio of 4.02. 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, ALGN has a P/B of 6.27.

These metrics, and several others, help CNMD earn a Value grade of B, while ALGN has been given a Value grade of C.

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

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CONMED Corporation (CNMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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