AstraZeneca (AZN) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend AZN or GSK?

AstraZeneca currently has a consensus target price of £134.25, indicating a potential upside of 7.51%. GSK has a consensus target price of GBX 1,637.50, indicating a potential upside of 0.77%. Given AstraZeneca's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe AstraZeneca is more favorable than GSK.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AstraZeneca	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
GSK	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AZN or GSK?

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
AstraZeneca	£56.50B	3.43	£8.71B	£5.31	2,351.65
GSK	£31.63B	2.07	£2.50B	£0.83	1,964.93

Does the media favor AZN or GSK?

In the previous week, AstraZeneca had 2 more articles in the media than GSK. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for AstraZeneca and 8 mentions for GSK. GSK's average media sentiment score of 0.64 beat AstraZeneca's score of -0.04 indicating that GSK is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AstraZeneca	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
GSK	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AZN or GSK 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
AstraZeneca	13.01%	17.76%	7.68%
GSK	8.02%	18.08%	9.56%

Is AZN or GSK a better dividend stock?

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of GBX 3.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. GSK pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. AstraZeneca pays out 59.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. GSK pays out 75.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Which has more volatility & risk, AZN or GSK?

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AZN or GSK?

67.8% of AstraZeneca shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.9% of GSK shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of AstraZeneca shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of GSK shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

AstraZeneca beats GSK on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.