Novartis (NVS) Competitors

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership and valuation.

Do analysts rate NVS or AZN?

Novartis currently has a consensus price target of $123.67, indicating a potential upside of 7.30%. AstraZeneca has a consensus price target of $89.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.35%. Given AstraZeneca's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AstraZeneca is more favorable than Novartis.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Novartis	3 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
AstraZeneca	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

Does the media favor NVS or AZN?

In the previous week, AstraZeneca had 14 more articles in the media than Novartis. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for AstraZeneca and 18 mentions for Novartis. Novartis' average media sentiment score of 1.60 beat AstraZeneca's score of 1.12 indicating that Novartis is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Novartis	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
AstraZeneca	22 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NVS or AZN more profitable?

Novartis has a net margin of 25.64% compared to AstraZeneca's net margin of 14.68%. Novartis' return on equity of 41.08% beat AstraZeneca's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Novartis	25.64%	41.08%	16.83%
AstraZeneca	14.68%	32.84%	12.87%

Which has more volatility and risk, NVS or AZN?

Novartis has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AstraZeneca has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, NVS or AZN?

Novartis has higher earnings, but lower revenue than AstraZeneca. Novartis 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
Novartis	$50.32B	4.84	$11.94B	$6.87	16.78
AstraZeneca	$54.07B	4.24	$7.04B	$2.66	27.80

Is NVS or AZN a better dividend stock?

Novartis pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. AstraZeneca pays an annual dividend of $2.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Novartis pays out 37.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AstraZeneca pays out 77.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in NVS or AZN?

13.1% of Novartis shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.4% of AstraZeneca shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Novartis shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Novartis beats AstraZeneca on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.