IRWD
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
IRWD has the edge over NVO overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
IRWD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
IRWD'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.
IRWD PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 3.6x | $4.85 | — |
| Cheap | 4x | $3.62 | -25% |
| Current | 5.4x | $4.85 | — |
| Fair | 12x | $10.94 | +125% |
| Expensive | 24x | $21.19 | +337% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
IRWD's PE is in its cheap range at 5.4x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 3.6x next year's earnings.
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 IRWD in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
IRWD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
IRWD 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.
IRWD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.37 | +52% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.90 | +500% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.77 | +$0.83 |
| Q1 2026 | $0.60 | +$0.81 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.13 | +$0.14 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.15 | +$0.18 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.06 | -250% |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.21 | +$6.58 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.01 | +$6.50 |
IRWD's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.90 over the past year, against $3.25 in late 2021.
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 IRWD on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
IRWD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $133M | +9% |
| Q2 2026 | $113M | +33% |
| Q1 2026 | $106.5M | +159% |
| Q4 2025 | $47.7M | -47% |
| Q3 2025 | $122.1M | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $85.2M | -9.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $41.1M | -45% |
| Q4 2024 | $90.5M | -23% |
IRWD's revenue is growing: $133M last quarter, up 9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 70% | +8.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 70% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | 68% | +139 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -21 points |
| Q3 2025 | 62% | +34 points |
| Q2 2025 | 53% | +27 points |
| Q1 2025 | -71% | -86 points |
| Q4 2024 | 35% | +2.8 points |
IRWD has the edge over NVO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 has the edge over IRWD on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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's operating margin was 34% last quarter, down 9 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
IRWD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $74.6M | +390% |
| Q3 2025 | $47.6M | +382% |
| Q2 2025 | -$15.1M | -145% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.9M | -56% |
| Q4 2024 | $15.2M | -57% |
| Q3 2024 | $9.9M | -70% |
| Q2 2024 | $33.4M | -4.5% |
| Q1 2024 | $44.9M | -44% |
NVO has the stronger cash trend. Its trailing FCF is down 14% versus its history, compared with IRWD at down 24%.
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.
IRWD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.6% | +998K shares |
| 1 year | -5.4% | -9.6M shares |
| 3 years | -10% | -18.7M shares |
| 5 years | +1.8% | +2.9M shares |
| Available history | +7.8% | +12.2M shares |
IRWD has the edge over NVO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | $92.5M |
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.
IRWD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 3.1x | Elevated |
IRWD's net debt is less than a year 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 has the edge over IRWD on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
IRWD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 61.2 | Neutral |
IRWD's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 61 (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).
IRWD PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | IRWD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 5.4x | 26x | 79% below |
| PE % | 25 | 29 | 4 pts below |
IRWD has the edge over NVO on valuation relative to its sector.
NVO PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | NVO | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 10x | 26x | 60% below |
| PE % | 6 | 29 | 23 pts below |
NVO is trading at 10x earnings, a 60% discount to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x, though its earnings don't support one.
IRWD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $3.91 | 24% above |
| 20 week MA | $4.08 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $3.95 | 23% above |
| 100 week MA | $2.81 | 73% above |
| 200 week MA | $5.79 | 16% below |
IRWD 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.
IRWD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $13.5 | $11.7 | -13% |
| 2021 | $11.7 | $11.9 | +1.3% |
| 2022 | $11.9 | $12.4 | +4.3% |
| 2023 | $12.4 | $11.4 | -7.6% |
| 2024 | $11.4 | $4.45 | -61% |
| 2025 | $4.45 | $3.20 | -28% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.20 | $4.85 | +52% |
IRWD 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.