what is price to tangible book value ptbv 
price to tangible book value ptbv is a valuation ratio used to compare the price of a security to the company s physical assets as reported in its balance sheet the tangible book value number includes all physical assets but excludes intangible assets such as goodwill patents intellectual property and trademarks since intangibles are excluded ptbv is considered a more accurate estimate of the company s net value to shareholders after debts are paid in the event of liquidation understanding price to tangible book value ptbv a company s tangible assets are the things of value that it owns examples include machinery equipment raw materials inventories vehicles and buildings in theory a stock s tangible book value per share represents the amount of money an investor would receive for each share if a company were to cease operations and liquidate all of its assets at the value recorded on the company s accounting books in fact in the event of a liquidation common stock shareholders are last in line to be repaid after all of the company s creditors as a rule of thumb stocks that trade at higher ptbv ratios have the potential to leave investors with greater share price losses than those that trade at lower ratios since the tangible book value per share can reasonably be viewed as the lowest price at which a stock could trade 