Investors with an interest in Computer - Peripheral Equipment stocks have likely encountered both Alps Electric (APELY) and Mercury Systems (MRCY). 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.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great 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, Alps Electric is sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while Mercury Systems has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Investors should feel comfortable knowing that APELY likely has seen a stronger improvement to its earnings outlook than MRCY has recently. But this is just one factor that value investors are interested in.

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.

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.

APELY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 14.07, while MRCY has a forward P/E of 949.57. We also note that APELY has a PEG ratio of 0.35. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. MRCY currently has a PEG ratio of 71.99.

Another notable valuation metric for APELY is its P/B ratio of 0.81. 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, MRCY has a P/B of 1.47.

These metrics, and several others, help APELY earn a Value grade of A, while MRCY has been given a Value grade of D.

APELY is currently sporting an improving earnings outlook, which makes it stick out in our Zacks Rank model. And, based on the above valuation metrics, we feel that APELY is likely the superior value option right now.

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