AstraZeneca (AZN) Competitors

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

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, NVO or AZN?

Novo Nordisk A/S has higher revenue and earnings than AstraZeneca. Novo Nordisk A/S 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
Novo Nordisk A/S	$290.40B	1.02	$14.64B	$3.29	20.06
AstraZeneca	$54.07B	3.90	$7.04B	$2.26	30.09

Does the media prefer NVO or AZN?

In the previous week, AstraZeneca had 1 more articles in the media than Novo Nordisk A/S. MarketBeat recorded 45 mentions for AstraZeneca and 44 mentions for Novo Nordisk A/S. Novo Nordisk A/S's average media sentiment score of 0.83 beat AstraZeneca's score of 0.82 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	25 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AstraZeneca	29 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	8 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of NVO or AZN?

11.5% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.4% of AstraZeneca shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in NVO or AZN?

Novo Nordisk A/S received 369 more outperform votes than AstraZeneca when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.93% of users gave Novo Nordisk A/S an outperform vote while only 59.62% of users gave AstraZeneca an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Novo Nordisk A/S	Outperform Votes 431 61.93%	Underperform Votes 265 38.07%
AstraZeneca	Outperform Votes 62 59.62%	Underperform Votes 42 40.38%

Is NVO or AZN more profitable?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a net margin of 34.81% compared to AstraZeneca's net margin of 13.01%. Novo Nordisk A/S's return on equity of 84.68% beat AstraZeneca's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Novo Nordisk A/S	34.81%	84.68%	26.29%
AstraZeneca	13.01%	32.23%	12.31%

Do analysts recommend NVO or AZN?

Novo Nordisk A/S presently has a consensus target price of $145.25, suggesting a potential upside of 120.08%. AstraZeneca has a consensus target price of $89.75, suggesting a potential upside of 31.97%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S's higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Novo Nordisk A/S is more favorable than AstraZeneca.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Novo Nordisk A/S	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
AstraZeneca	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.10

Is NVO or AZN a better dividend stock?

Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $1.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 49.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AstraZeneca pays out 91.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Which has more risk and volatility, NVO or AZN?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AstraZeneca has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Novo Nordisk A/S beats AstraZeneca on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.