Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. GRDN scored 69.8, AVAH scored 76.3 — AVAH leads.
Compare another set
GRDN
Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc.
Medical Care Facilities · Quality-Growth
69.8
$41.28 · $2.6B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
6.5
AVAH leads
AVAH
Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc.
Medical Care Facilities · Quality-Growth
76.3
$12.25 · $2.7B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestAVAH9.7x
Fastest growthAVAH+19.5%
Strongest balance sheetGRDN0.15
Highest qualityGRDN81 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
GRDN
stronger →← stronger
AVAH
81
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
60
87
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
89
48
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
84
AVAH is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
GRDN
AVAH
$80mC-
FCF
$154mC
+17.9%B+
Rev
+19.5%B+
0.15B+
D/E
5.23D
40.5xC
P/E
9.7xA
3.93D
PEG
0.96B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
GRDN
AVAH
76% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
64% above
~24%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~21%/yr
-50%
1-yr DCF upside
-44%
-43%
5-yr DCF upside
-39%
-32%
10-yr DCF upside
-33%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
GRDN
Why this score
Short track record
AVAH
Why this score
Diluting shareholders
The companies
GRDNGuardian Pharmacy Services, Inc.
Medical Care Facilities · $41.28 · beta 0.02
Why now
Medical Care Facilities · market cap $2.6b. 15% off the 52-week high of $48.33. Revenue growing +18%, comfortably above the S&P median. 7 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $49.86 (implying +21% upside).
Moat
ROE 30% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 121% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trailing P/E 40x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. Net margin 4.5% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
AVAHAveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc.
Medical Care Facilities · $12.25 · beta 1.95
Why now
Medical Care Facilities · market cap $2.7b. 17% off the 52-week high of $14.71. Revenue growing +20%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.96 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 10 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $14.85 (implying +21% upside).
Moat
ROE 96% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
D/E 5.23 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Beta 1.95 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where GRDN and AVAH diverge
On the headline score the gap is 6.5 points in favor of AVAH. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueGRDN 48.1 · AVAH 83.8AVAH +35.7
QualityGRDN 81.0 · AVAH 59.6GRDN +21.4
GrowthGRDN 87.2 · AVAH 88.9level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is AVAH or GRDN the better stock?
AVAH scores higher: AVAH 76.3, GRDN 69.8 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do AVAH and GRDN differ most?
The widest gap is value, where AVAH leads by 36 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are AVAH and GRDN scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.