ARQT
Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc.
ARQT has the edge over NVO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
ARQT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Weak |
ARQT's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
NVO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
NVO's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
ARQT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 41x | $27.53 | — |
| Cheap | 110x | $24.27 | -12% |
| Fair | 116x | $25.54 | -7.2% |
| Current | 125x | $27.53 | — |
| Expensive | 129x | $28.33 | +2.9% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ARQT's PE is 125x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
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 ARQT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
ARQT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
ARQT 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.
ARQT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $0.67 | +206% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.22 | +$0.58 |
| Q2 2026 | $0.22 | +$0.97 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.02 | +$1.02 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.13 | +$1.03 |
| Q3 2025 | -$0.36 | +$1.29 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.75 | +$1.30 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.04 | +$1.75 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.16 | +$2.62 |
ARQT has returned to profit: it earned $0.22 per share over the past year, after losing money 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's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $3.89 over the past year, up 4.9% from the year before, and higher year over year every quarter since late 2020.
ARQT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $143.9M | +45% |
| Q2 2026 | $129.9M | +59% |
| Q1 2026 | $105.4M | +60% |
| Q4 2025 | $129.5M | +81% |
| Q3 2025 | $99.2M | +122% |
| Q2 2025 | $81.5M | +164% |
| Q1 2025 | $65.8M | +33% |
| Q4 2024 | $71.4M | +428% |
ARQT has the edge over NVO on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.6% | -2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | +31 points |
| Q1 2026 | -8.6% | +29 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | +25 points |
| Q3 2025 | 8.6% | +96 points |
| Q2 2025 | -18% | +144 points |
| Q1 2025 | -37% | +27 points |
| Q4 2024 | -11% | +442 points |
ARQT's operating margin was 6.6% last quarter, down 2 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 ARQT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ARQT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.8M | +$20.6M |
| Q2 2026 | $12.5M | +4974% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.2M | +$33.2M |
| Q4 2025 | $26.2M | +$26.9M |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.8M | +$33.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $246K | +$45.4M |
| Q1 2025 | -$31M | +$615K |
| Q4 2024 | -$748K | +$55.5M |
ARQT has the edge over NVO on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2026 peak: $7.3B over the past year.
ARQT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.7% | +938K shares |
| 1 year | +7.7% | +9.8M shares |
| 3 years | +124% | +75.7M shares |
| 5 years | +189% | +89.6M shares |
| Available history | +259% | +98.7M shares |
ARQT has 137M diluted shares, up 7.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2019 | — |
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 the edge over ARQT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| 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.
ARQT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | 12.5x | High |
| Q1 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q4 2023 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q3 2023 | 0.7x | Very low |
ARQT's net debt is about 13 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
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's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
ARQT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 53.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 48.9 | Neutral |
ARQT's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 49 (neutral).
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).
ARQT PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | ARQT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 125x | 26x | 384% above |
ARQT is trading at 125x earnings, a 384% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x, though its earnings don't support one.
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 ARQT on valuation relative to its sector.
ARQT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $28.0 | 1.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $26.7 | 3.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $25.7 | 7.2% above |
| 100 week MA | $21.0 | 31% above |
| 200 week MA | $15.0 | 84% above |
ARQT 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.
ARQT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $21.8 | $29.6 | +36% |
| 2021 | $29.6 | $20.1 | -32% |
| 2022 | $20.1 | $14.3 | -29% |
| 2023 | $14.3 | $3.23 | -77% |
| 2024 | $3.23 | $14.3 | +343% |
| 2025 | $14.3 | $29.0 | +103% |
| 2026 YTD | $29.0 | $27.5 | -5% |
ARQT 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.