In today's second-round matchup of The Motley Fool Better-Buy Tournament, CONSOL Energy squares off against Gilead Sciences in a battle to determine which stock is the better buy now. The 64-company tournament pits two Motley Fool analysts against each other as they make the case for their stocks, with the winner determined by you, the readers.
Motley Fool energy analyst Taylor Muckerman thinks CONSOL Energy (CNX -1.11%) should move to the next round because of its accelerating shift into natural gas. While CONSOL might be the oldest coal producer in the nation, natural gas is the company's future. To avoid being blindsided, though, CONSOL wisely chose to hold on to its lower-cost thermal coal mines and its solely owned export terminal as a nice hedge while the market shakes itself out. Other coal companies are likely jealous of this flexibility, so don't be jealous if CONSOL moves on.
Meanwhile, Motley Fool analyst Max Macaluso makes the case for Gilead Sciences (GILD -2.70%) to advance to the next round. Gilead is one of today's biggest biotech companies, and has a number of blockbuster drugs already on the market. It also recently launched a potential blockbuster treatment for hepatitis C, Sovaldi. Meanwhile, its impressive pipeline also bodes well for the company's future.
Watch these analysts square off in the video below and then vote for a winner. Then check out the other companies in the Motley Fool Better-Buy Bracket.
This year's winning stock?
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Cast your vote in the poll below the video!
