Novartis (NVS) Competitors

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

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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	$42.12B	6.02	$14.64B	$3.64	15.60
Novartis	$50.32B	5.37	$11.94B	$6.87	18.63

Do analysts recommend NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus target price of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.62%. Novartis has a consensus target price of $123.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.53%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research 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	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13
Novartis	2 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.10

Is NVO or NVS a better dividend stock?

Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Novartis pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 22.5% 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.

Which has more risk & volatility, NVO or NVS?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novartis has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Novartis shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor NVO or NVS?

In the previous week, Novo Nordisk A/S had 39 more articles in the media than Novartis. MarketBeat recorded 64 mentions for Novo Nordisk A/S and 25 mentions for Novartis. Novartis' average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Novo Nordisk A/S's score of 0.61 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	29 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	26 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Novartis	23 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is NVO or NVS more profitable?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a net margin of 35.60% compared to Novartis' net margin of 25.64%. Novo Nordisk A/S's return on equity of 78.64% beat Novartis' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Novo Nordisk A/S	35.60%	78.64%	24.51%
Novartis	25.64%	41.08%	16.83%

Summary

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