AstraZeneca (AZN) Competitors

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

Does the media favor AZN or GSK?

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. AstraZeneca's average media sentiment score of 0.34 beat GSK's score of 0.28 indicating that AstraZeneca is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

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%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AZN or GSK?

51.0% of AstraZeneca shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.3% of GSK shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of AstraZeneca shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of GSK shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has better earnings and valuation, 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	£66.95B	3.05	£8.71B	£364.83	29.09
GSK	£31.14B	1.84	£2.50B	£61.91	22.75

Which has more risk & volatility, AZN or GSK?

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

Is AZN or GSK a better dividend stock?

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of GBX 234 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. GSK pays an annual dividend of GBX 60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. AstraZeneca pays out 64.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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.

Do analysts rate AZN or GSK?

AstraZeneca presently has a consensus price target of GBX 8,380, suggesting a potential downside of 21.03%. GSK has a consensus price target of GBX 1,525, suggesting a potential upside of 8.27%. Given GSK's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe GSK is more favorable than AstraZeneca.

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	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Summary

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