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 stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings and dividends.

Do analysts rate NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus price target of $112.00, suggesting a potential upside of 62.52%. Novartis has a consensus price target of $123.67, suggesting a potential upside of 2.15%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities 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)	5 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.27
Novartis	3 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Novartis. Novartis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Novo Nordisk A/S, 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	$42.12B	7.31	$14.64B	$3.38	20.39
Novartis	$50.32B	5.08	$11.94B	$6.40	18.92

Does the media favor NVO or NVS?

In the previous week, Novo Nordisk A/S had 18 more articles in the media than Novartis. MarketBeat recorded 40 mentions for Novo Nordisk A/S and 22 mentions for Novartis. Novo Nordisk A/S's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Novartis' score of 0.94 indicating that Novo Nordisk A/S is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Novo Nordisk A/S	32 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Novartis	15 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novartis has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in NVO or NVS?

11.5% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.1% of Novartis shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Novartis shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers 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 24.70%. 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	24.70%	39.44%	16.43%

Is NVO or NVS a better dividend stock?

Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Novartis pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Novartis pays out 40.6% 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 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.