GSK (GSK) Competitors

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

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%

Which has more volatility and risk, AZN or GSK?

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

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	3.44	£8.71B	£364.83	32.79
GSK	£31.14B	1.93	£2.50B	£61.91	23.90

Do analysts recommend AZN or GSK?

AstraZeneca currently has a consensus price target of GBX 9,660, suggesting a potential downside of 19.25%. GSK has a consensus price target of GBX 1,612.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.99%. Given GSK's higher possible upside, analysts clearly 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)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

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

Does the media favor AZN or GSK?

In the previous week, AstraZeneca had 6 more articles in the media than GSK. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for AstraZeneca and 4 mentions for GSK. GSK's average media sentiment score of 0.40 beat AstraZeneca's score of 0.15 indicating that GSK is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Is AZN or GSK a better dividend stock?

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of GBX 234 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. GSK pays an annual dividend of GBX 60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. 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.

Summary

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