AKAM vs. ZS: Which Stock Should Value Investors Buy Now?

Core Viewpoint - Investors in the Internet - Services sector should consider Akamai Technologies (AKAM) and Zscaler (ZS) for potential investment opportunities, with a focus on which stock offers better value at present [1] Group 1: Zacks Rank and Value Metrics - Both Akamai Technologies and Zscaler currently hold a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), indicating positive earnings estimate revisions and improving earnings outlooks [3] - Value investors utilize various valuation metrics to identify undervalued companies, including P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, and cash flow per share [4] Group 2: Valuation Comparisons - Akamai Technologies has a forward P/E ratio of 14.74, while Zscaler has a significantly higher forward P/E of 63.99 [5] - The PEG ratio for Akamai is 2.42, compared to Zscaler's PEG ratio of 4.74, indicating that Akamai may be more reasonably priced relative to its expected earnings growth [5] - Akamai's P/B ratio stands at 3.15, whereas Zscaler's P/B ratio is much higher at 20.54, further suggesting that Akamai is the superior value option based on these metrics [6] - Based on the valuation figures, Akamai holds a Value grade of B, while Zscaler has a Value grade of F, reinforcing the conclusion that Akamai is the better value investment at this time [6]