February 22, 2024
Top 10 Stock Virbac Strong Buy Recommendation



How to read the ranks

For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:

Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Snapshot: Virbac – Top 10 Stock in SDG 2: Zero Hunger


corporate.virbac.com


Virbac is listed as a top 10 stock on February 22, 2024 in the market index SDG 2 because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Three consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. Only the Value Rank is below average. The investment rationale may be an investment in future growth, supported by professional market opinion. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 98 (top 98% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall strong buy recommendation for Virbac on February 22, 2024.


Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks


Country France
Industry Pharmaceuticals
Index CAC All, SBF 120, SDG 1, SDG 15, SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 6, Sound Pay Europe
Size class Large
Latest Research


Top 10 Stocks ≠ most popular stocks

When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).

For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).


360° View: Obermatt 360° View Virbac Strong Buy

360 METRICS February 22, 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT
360° VIEW
360° VIEW

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 98 (better than 98% compared with alternatives) for 2024, overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock Virbac are very positive. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Virbac. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 53, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth, as well as stock returns. This means that growth is higher than for 53% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Safety Rank at 82 means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than 82% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, the consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 73, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 73% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank is less desirable at 49, meaning that the share price of Virbac is on the higher side compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 51% of alternative stocks in the same industry. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 98, Virbac is better positioned than 98% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as above-average growth (Growth Rank of 53), a safe financing structure (Safety Rank of 82), and positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 73), it is a solid stock investment where growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale, also reflected by institutional investors. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much more do you pay for the stock of Virbac compared with alternatives? You can use the following rule of thumb: The growth rank measures the growth momentum of the company (53% better than peers). The value rank could be the reverse reflection of that (47%). A Value Rank below that level may be assessed as expensive, a rank above that is still good value. Sometimes market sentiment just reflects the past, sometimes the reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more




Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for Virbac positive

SENTIMENT METRICS February 22, 2024
ANALYST OPINION
ANALYST OPINION
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 73 (better than 73% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock Virbac is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for Virbac. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 40 (worse than 60% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in Virbac. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 83, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 83% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 64, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 64% of competitors). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 73 (more positive than 73% compared with investment alternatives), Virbac has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more



Value Strategy: Virbac Stock Price Value below-average critical

VALUE METRICS February 22, 2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 49 (worse than 51% compared with alternatives), Virbac shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, where the majority of metrics are below, and only one is above average for Virbac. Price-to-Sales (P/S) is 67, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than 67% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning to Virbac's revenue size. But all other performance indicators point in a different direction. Dividend yields have a Dividend Yield rank of 45, meaning that dividends are expected to be lower than for 55% of comparable investments. Furthermore, Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) is less favorable than 61% of alternatives (only 39% of peers have an even higher ratio). The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (or Price / Earnings, P/E), which is higher than for 62% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive compared with the company's expected profit levels. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 49, is a hold recommendation based on Virbac's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since Price-to-Sales is a stable value indicator even in challenging times, investing in Virbac could be seen as a value investment. However, there must be a good reason for the low market-to-book rank. If the company has a typical capital investment practice, the stock may be overvalued because the profit and dividend-related performance indicators are also low. The stock is only good value if investors can expect profits and dividends to pick up in the future. Else, Virbac looks like an expensive investment today. ...read more



Growth Strategy: Virbac Growth Momentum good

GROWTH METRICS February 22, 2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 53 (better than 53% compared with alternatives), Virbac shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for Virbac. Capital Growth has a rank of 57, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its invested capital more than 37% of its competitors. Investors welcomed this, visible in the Stock Returns rank of 66 (above 66% of alternative investments). But Sales Growth has only a rank of 43, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow less than 57% of its competitors, and Profit Growth is also low at a rank of 37. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 53, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. This is an ambiguous picture. Revenue growth and capital growth are strong, but the growth in profit, which seems good, can also be an indication that growth momentum may be negative. The fact that stock returns have been above average doesn't help much, as stock returns are less reliable in showing a company’s future growth potential. Prices may perform well for the simple reason that investors were too pessimistic in the past and are now correcting their opinions and moving the stock price to a more reasonable level. As the growth picture is mixed for Virbac, investors may want to look at value and sentiment indicators for a well-rounded picture of this stock. ...read more



Safety Strategy: Virbac Debt Financing Safety very solid

SAFETY METRICS February 22, 2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE
REFINANCING
REFINANCING
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 82 (better than 82% compared with alternatives) for 2024, the company Virbac has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Virbac is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, where all three are above average for Virbac. Leverage is at 76, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 76% of its competitors. Refinancing is at a rank of 59, meaning that the portion of the debt about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 59% of its competitors. Finally, Liquidity is also good at a rank of 79, which means that the company generates more profit to service its debt than 79% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 82 (better than 82% compared with alternatives), Virbac has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. These three positive financing indicators signal that the company is less likely to default on its debt obligations. However, it also means that its shareholder returns will be more modest if things go well. A low safety means fewer troubles in downtimes and less upside in good times. ...read more



Combined financial peformance: Virbac Top Financial Performance

COMBINED PERFORMANCE February 22, 2024
VALUE
VALUE
GROWTH
GROWTH
SAFETY
SAFETY
COMBINED
COMBINED

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 90 (better than 90% compared with investment alternatives), Virbac (Pharmaceuticals, France) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of Virbac are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 49 (worse than 51% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 53) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 82, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 90, is a strong buy recommendation based on Virbac's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company Virbac exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 49), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 53). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 82) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). ...read more

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