Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) Competitors

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) and Novartis (NYSE:NVS) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of NVO or NVS?

11.5% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.1% of Novartis shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Novartis shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is NVO or NVS more profitable?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a net margin of 34.52% compared to Novartis' net margin of 25.64%. Novo Nordisk A/S's return on equity of 80.94% beat Novartis' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Novo Nordisk A/S	34.52%	80.94%	24.23%
Novartis	25.64%	41.08%	16.83%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S has higher revenue and earnings than Novartis. Novo Nordisk A/S is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Novartis, 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
Novo Nordisk A/S	$303.14B	0.72	$14.64B	$3.38	14.43
Novartis	$50.32B	4.93	$11.94B	$6.87	17.08

Do analysts prefer NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus price target of $93.67, indicating a potential upside of 92.01%. Novartis has a consensus price target of $123.67, indicating a potential upside of 5.39%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Novo Nordisk A/S is more favorable than Novartis.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Novo Nordisk A/S	2 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.08
Novartis	3 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more volatility and risk, NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novartis has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to NVO or NVS?

In the previous week, Novo Nordisk A/S had 64 more articles in the media than Novartis. MarketBeat recorded 93 mentions for Novo Nordisk A/S and 29 mentions for Novartis. Novartis' average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat Novo Nordisk A/S's score of 0.29 indicating that Novartis is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Novo Nordisk A/S	33 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	24 Neutral mention(s)	22 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Novartis	23 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NVO or NVS a better dividend stock?

Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Novartis pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 48.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Novartis pays out 37.8% 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.

Summary

Novo Nordisk A/S beats Novartis on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.