Head-To-Head Contrast: Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) vs. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

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

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly and Company”s top-line 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	5.75	$14.64 billion	$3.64	14.91
Eli Lilly and Company	$45.04 billion	15.76	$10.59 billion	$15.30	49.02

Novo Nordisk A/S has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Eli Lilly and Company. Novo Nordisk A/S is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eli Lilly and Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Novo Nordisk A/S pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Eli Lilly and Company pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Novo Nordisk A/S pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eli Lilly and Company pays out 39.2% 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. Eli Lilly and Company has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Novo Nordisk A/S is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eli Lilly and Company has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.5% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.5% of Eli Lilly and Company shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Eli Lilly and Company shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Novo Nordisk A/S	35.60%	78.64%	24.51%
Eli Lilly and Company	25.91%	92.72%	16.89%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly and Company, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Novo Nordisk A/S	1	11	4	0	2.19
Eli Lilly and Company	0	8	14	1	2.70

Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus price target of $81.00, suggesting a potential upside of 49.23%. Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus price target of $950.17, suggesting a potential upside of 26.69%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Novo Nordisk A/S is more favorable than Eli Lilly and Company.

Summary

Eli Lilly and Company beats Novo Nordisk A/S on 11 of the 18 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 Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity. It also provides oncology products, including Alimta, Cyramza, Erbitux, Jaypirca, Retevmo, Tyvyt, and Verzenio. In addition, the company offers Olumiant for rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, severe alopecia areata, and COVID-19; Taltz for plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and non-radiographic axial spondylarthritis; Omvoh for ulcerative colitis; Cymbalta for depressive disorder, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, generalized anxiety disorder, fibromyalgia, and chronic musculoskeletal pain; Ebglyss for severe atopic dermatitis; and Emgality for migraine prevention and episodic cluster headache. Further, it provides Cialis for erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia; and Forteo for osteoporosis. It has collaborations with Incyte Corporation; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Genentech, Inc.; Biologics, Inc., AbCellera Biologics Inc.; and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.