AstraZeneca (AZN) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer AZN or NVO?

Novo Nordisk A/S received 365 more outperform votes than AstraZeneca when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.79% of users gave Novo Nordisk A/S an outperform vote while only 59.62% of users gave AstraZeneca an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
AstraZeneca	Outperform Votes 62 59.62%	Underperform Votes 42 40.38%
Novo Nordisk A/S	Outperform Votes 427 61.79%	Underperform Votes 264 38.21%

Is AZN or NVO 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
AstraZeneca	13.01%	32.23%	12.31%
Novo Nordisk A/S	34.81%	84.68%	26.29%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, AZN or NVO?

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
AstraZeneca	$54.07B	4.26	$7.04B	$2.26	32.83
Novo Nordisk A/S	$290.40B	1.36	$14.64B	$3.29	26.77

Which has more volatility & risk, AZN or NVO?

AstraZeneca has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AZN or NVO a better dividend stock?

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $1.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. 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. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 47.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in AZN or NVO?

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

Does the media refer more to AZN or NVO?

In the previous week, Novo Nordisk A/S had 23 more articles in the media than AstraZeneca. MarketBeat recorded 78 mentions for Novo Nordisk A/S and 55 mentions for AstraZeneca. Novo Nordisk A/S's average media sentiment score of 0.54 beat AstraZeneca's score of 0.42 indicating that Novo Nordisk A/S is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AstraZeneca	28 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	21 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Novo Nordisk A/S	43 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	23 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer AZN or NVO?

AstraZeneca presently has a consensus price target of $89.75, suggesting a potential upside of 20.96%. Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus price target of $145.25, suggesting a potential upside of 64.93%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Novo Nordisk A/S 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)	7 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.10
Novo Nordisk A/S	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88

Summary

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