Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) and Roche (OTCMKTS:RHHBY) Head-To-Head Review

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S and Roche, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Novo Nordisk A/S	2	5	3	1	2.27
Roche	1	3	1	2	2.57

Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus target price of $112.00, suggesting a potential upside of 57.62%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Novo Nordisk A/S is more favorable than Roche.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Novo Nordisk A/S and Roche”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Novo Nordisk A/S	$42.12 billion	7.53	$14.64 billion	$3.38	21.02
Roche	$68.73 billion	3.83	$9.40 billion	N/A	N/A

Novo Nordisk A/S has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Roche.

Profitability

This table compares Novo Nordisk A/S and Roche’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Novo Nordisk A/S	34.52%	80.94%	24.23%
Roche	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Roche pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Roche has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Novo Nordisk A/S beats Roche on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease. The Diabetes and Obesity care segment provides products for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, and other emerging therapy areas. The Rare Disease segment offers products in the areas of rare blood disorders, rare endocrine disorders, and hormone replacement therapy. The company also provides insulin pens, growth hormone pens, and injection needles. In addition, it offers smart solutions for diabetes treatment, such as smart insulin pens and Dose Check, an insulin dose guidance application. The company has a collaboration agreement with Aspen Pharmaceuticals to produce insulin products; and with Korro Bio, Inc. for the discovery and development of new genetic medicines to treat cardiometabolic diseases. Novo Nordisk A/S was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.

About Roche

Roche Holding AG engages in the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania. The company offers pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of anemia, blood and solid tumors, dermatology, hemophilia, inflammatory and autoimmune, neurological disorders, ophthalmology, respiratory disorders, and transplantation. It is also developing products for various therapeutic areas. In addition, it offers in vitro tests for the diagnosis of various diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, Covid-19, hepatitis, human papillomavirus, and other diseases; diagnostic instruments; and digital health solutions. Roche Holding AG was founded in 1896 and is based in Basel, Switzerland.