AstraZeneca (AZN) Competitors

GSK (LON:GSK) and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of GSK or AZN?

45.3% of GSK shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.0% of AstraZeneca shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of GSK shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of AstraZeneca shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is GSK or AZN more profitable?

AstraZeneca has a net margin of 13.01% compared to GSK's net margin of 8.02%. GSK's return on equity of 18.08% beat AstraZeneca's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GSK	8.02%	18.08%	9.56%
AstraZeneca	13.01%	17.76%	7.68%

Which has more risk and volatility, GSK or AZN?

GSK has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AstraZeneca has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate GSK or AZN?

GSK currently has a consensus price target of GBX 1,525, indicating a potential upside of 7.77%. AstraZeneca has a consensus price target of GBX 8,380, indicating a potential downside of 20.70%. Given GSK's higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe GSK is more favorable than AstraZeneca.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GSK	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
AstraZeneca	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Does the media refer more to GSK or AZN?

In the previous week, AstraZeneca had 3 more articles in the media than GSK. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for AstraZeneca and 6 mentions for GSK. GSK's average media sentiment score of 0.39 beat AstraZeneca's score of 0.24 indicating that GSK is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
GSK	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
AstraZeneca	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is GSK or AZN a better dividend stock?

GSK pays an annual dividend of GBX 60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of GBX 234 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. GSK pays out 96.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AstraZeneca pays out 64.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, GSK or AZN?

AstraZeneca has higher revenue and earnings than GSK. GSK is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AstraZeneca, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GSK	£31.14B	1.84	£2.50B	£61.91	22.86
AstraZeneca	£66.95B	3.04	£8.71B	£364.83	28.97

Summary

AstraZeneca beats GSK on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.