AstraZeneca (AZN) Competitors

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

Does the media favor AZN or NVO?

In the previous week, Novo Nordisk A/S had 37 more articles in the media than AstraZeneca. MarketBeat recorded 51 mentions for Novo Nordisk A/S and 14 mentions for AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca's average media sentiment score of 0.46 beat Novo Nordisk A/S's score of 0.27 indicating that AstraZeneca is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AstraZeneca	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Novo Nordisk A/S	14 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	18 Neutral mention(s)	12 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in AZN or NVO?

Novo Nordisk A/S received 364 more outperform votes than AstraZeneca when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.81% of users gave Novo Nordisk A/S an outperform vote while only 58.82% of users gave AstraZeneca an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
AstraZeneca	Outperform Votes 60 58.82%	Underperform Votes 42 41.18%
Novo Nordisk A/S	Outperform Votes 424 61.81%	Underperform Votes 262 38.19%

Do analysts rate AZN or NVO?

AstraZeneca currently has a consensus target price of $89.75, suggesting a potential upside of 37.34%. Novo Nordisk A/S has a consensus target price of $150.40, suggesting a potential upside of 76.94%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S's stronger consensus rating and higher possible 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)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91
Novo Nordisk A/S	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is AZN or NVO a better dividend stock?

AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. AstraZeneca pays out 46.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 23.3% 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.

Is AZN or NVO more profitable?

Novo Nordisk A/S has a net margin of 35.03% compared to AstraZeneca's net margin of 12.68%. Novo Nordisk A/S's return on equity of 86.32% beat AstraZeneca's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AstraZeneca	12.68%	30.01%	11.42%
Novo Nordisk A/S	35.03%	86.32%	27.42%

Which has more risk and volatility, AZN or NVO?

AstraZeneca has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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	$51.21B	3.96	$5.96B	$2.09	31.27
Novo Nordisk A/S	$270.58B	1.41	$12.15B	$3.09	27.51

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership 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 insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

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