A
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
A has the edge over NVO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
A Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
A's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
NVO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
NVO's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
A PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 26x | $173 | — |
| Cheap | 28x | $141 | -19% |
| Fair | 31x | $160 | -7.6% |
| Current | 34x | $173 | — |
| Expensive | 45x | $227 | +31% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
A's PE is in its fair range at 34x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 26x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
NVO PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 10x | $40.65 | — |
| Cheap | 14x | $53.56 | +32% |
| Fair | 27x | $103 | +154% |
| Expensive | 39x | $152 | +273% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NVO has the edge over A in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
A Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
A has the edge over NVO on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
NVO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect NVO's revenue to grow, but its profitability to weaken. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
A Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.70 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.08 | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.98 | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.53 | +3.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.57 | +3.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.27 | -11% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.06 | -3.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.36 | +4.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.43 | +5.7% |
A earned $5.08 per share over the past year, up 19% from the year before.
NVO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $3.89 | +4.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.07 | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.42 | +1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.47 | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.71 | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.49 | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.36 | +21% |
| Q3 2024 | $3.15 | +27% |
NVO has the edge over A on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
A Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.9B | +8.1% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.8B | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +7% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.9B | +9.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.7B | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B | +6% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.7B | +1.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.7B | +0.8% |
A's revenue has grown year over year for eight quarters in a row: $1.9B last quarter, up 8.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 24% | +2.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 22% | +3.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | -2.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 21% | -0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | -5.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | -0.8 points |
| Q4 2024 | 24% | -0.2 points |
A's operating margin was 24% last quarter, up 2.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
NVO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $11.7B | +2.1% |
| Q1 2026 | $14.4B | +24% |
| Q4 2025 | $11.8B | -7.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.1B | +5.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $11.4B | +13% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.6B | +19% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.7B | +30% |
| Q3 2024 | $10.6B | +21% |
NVO's revenue is growing: $11.7B last quarter, up 2.1% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 34% | -9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 62% | +12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | -2.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | -16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 44% | +5.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 50% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 43% | +2.2 points |
| Q3 2024 | 47% | +1.6 points |
NVO has the edge over A on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
A Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $439M | +69% |
| Q2 2026 | $201M | +88% |
| Q1 2026 | $175M | -48% |
| Q4 2025 | $452M | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $259M | -28% |
| Q2 2025 | $107M | -53% |
| Q1 2025 | $334M | -15% |
| Q4 2024 | $388M | -10% |
A generated $1.3B in free cash flow over the past year, up 16% from the year before.
NVO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $6.3B | +73% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | -$5.4B | -$4.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $4.6B | -2.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.6B | -34% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +89% |
| Q4 2024 | -$632.6M | +$390.5M |
| Q3 2024 | $4.7B | +3.3% |
NVO has the edge over A on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
A Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | -- |
| 1 year | -0.7% | -2M shares |
| 3 years | -4.1% | -12M shares |
| 5 years | -7.5% | -23M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -35M shares |
A has the edge over NVO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $78M |
| Q2 2026 | $65M |
| Q1 2026 | $152M |
| Q4 2025 | $85M |
| Q3 2025 | $85M |
| Q2 2025 | $165M |
| Q1 2025 | $90M |
| Q4 2024 | $335M |
A spent $380M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 44% from the year before.
NVO Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -12.9M shares |
| 1 year | -0.2% | -11M shares |
| 3 years | -1.5% | -66.8M shares |
| 5 years | -3.8% | -177M shares |
| Available history | -6.5% | -311M shares |
NVO has 4.4B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $520M |
| Q1 2026 | $356.7M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | $206.3M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.1B |
| Q3 2024 | $357.4M |
NVO spent $877M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 48% from the year before.
A Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.2x | Healthy |
A's net debt is about 1.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
NVO Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.0x | Very low |
NVO has the edge over A on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
A Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 67.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 80.4 | Overbought |
A's weekly RSI is 68 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 80 (overbought).
NVO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 27.0 | Neutral |
NVO's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
A PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | A | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 34x | 26x | 32% above |
| PE % | 65 | 29 | 36 pts above |
A is trading at 34x earnings, a 32% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
NVO PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | NVO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 10x | 26x | 60% below |
| PE % | 6 | 29 | 23 pts below |
NVO has the edge over A on valuation relative to its sector.
A Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $172.5 | 0.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $155.7 | 11% above |
| 50 week MA | $138.1 | 25% above |
| 100 week MA | $132.5 | 31% above |
| 200 week MA | $132.5 | 31% above |
A has the edge over NVO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NVO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $39.2 | 3.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $43.9 | 7.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $45.3 | 10% below |
| 100 week MA | $56.3 | 28% below |
| 200 week MA | $80.7 | 50% below |
NVO has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 50% below its 200-week average.
A Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $85.4 | $117.3 | +37% |
| 2021 | $117.3 | $157.8 | +35% |
| 2022 | $157.8 | $149.2 | -5.4% |
| 2023 | $149.2 | $139.0 | -6.8% |
| 2024 | $139.0 | $135.5 | -2.5% |
| 2025 | $135.5 | $138.4 | +2.1% |
| 2026 YTD | $138.4 | $173.0 | +25% |
A has the edge over NVO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NVO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $29.1 | $34.7 | +19% |
| 2021 | $34.7 | $54.2 | +56% |
| 2022 | $54.2 | $67.0 | +24% |
| 2023 | $67.0 | $103.5 | +54% |
| 2024 | $103.5 | $87.4 | -16% |
| 2025 | $87.4 | $52.4 | -40% |
| 2026 YTD | $52.4 | $40.7 | -22% |
NVO has finished higher in four of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's down 22% so far in 2026.