LGND
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
LGND has the edge over NVO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals.
NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
LGND Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
LGND's cash flow is currently strong, and its profitability is stable, but its revenue and balance sheet are under pressure.
NVO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
NVO's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
LGND PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 25x | $62.36 | -80% |
| Forward | 29x | $316 | — |
| Fair | 42x | $106 | -67% |
| Expensive | 67x | $170 | -46% |
| Current | 125x | $316 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LGND's PE is in its expensive range at 125x, but its recent earnings include one-off gains. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 29x 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 LGND in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
LGND Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
LGND 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.
LGND Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $10.93 | +330% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.54 | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.65 | +$13.71 |
| Q1 2026 | $7.67 | +$14.85 |
| Q4 2025 | $6.13 | +$6.35 |
| Q3 2025 | $2.01 | -21% |
| Q2 2025 | -$4.06 | -273% |
| Q1 2025 | -$7.18 | -234% |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.22 | -107% |
LGND's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $2.54 over the past year, against $29.34 in late 2019. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
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 LGND on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
LGND Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $78.7M | -32% |
| Q2 2026 | $63.7M | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $51.7M | +14% |
| Q4 2025 | $59.7M | +39% |
| Q3 2025 | $115.5M | +123% |
| Q2 2025 | $47.6M | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $45.3M | +46% |
| Q4 2024 | $42.8M | +52% |
LGND has the edge over NVO on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -20% | -68 points |
| Q2 2026 | 13% | -4.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +114 points |
| Q4 2025 | 23% | +46 points |
| Q3 2025 | 48% | +42 points |
| Q2 2025 | 18% | +64 points |
| Q1 2025 | -80% | -90 points |
| Q4 2024 | -23% | -11 points |
LGND's operating margin was −20% last quarter, down 68 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 LGND on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LGND Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$27.7M | -312% |
| Q2 2026 | $24M | +54% |
| Q1 2026 | $48.5M | +$74.1M |
| Q4 2025 | $45.9M | +65% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.1M | -64% |
| Q2 2025 | $15.6M | +21% |
| Q1 2025 | -$25.7M | -238% |
| Q4 2024 | $27.8M | +263% |
LGND usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$28M, but it generated $91M over the past year.
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.
LGND Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -8.6% | -1.9M shares |
| 1 year | -3.2% | -667K shares |
| 3 years | +15% | +2.6M shares |
| 5 years | +16% | +2.8M shares |
| Available history | +16% | +2.7M shares |
LGND has the edge over NVO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q4 2020 | $4.7M |
| Q3 2020 | — |
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.
LGND Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 18.2x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.9x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -104.6x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -5.7x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2024 | -3.3x | Net Cash |
LGND's net debt is about 18 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt 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 LGND on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LGND Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 64.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 80.9 | Overbought |
LGND's weekly RSI is 65 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 81 (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).
LGND PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | LGND | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 125x | 26x | 382% above |
| PE % | 100 | 29 | 71 pts above |
LGND is trading at 125x earnings, a 382% premium to the Healthcare sector's median of 26x, though its recent earnings include one-off gains.
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 LGND on valuation relative to its sector.
LGND Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $306.3 | 3.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $299.3 | 5.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $247.3 | 28% above |
| 100 week MA | $191.1 | 66% above |
| 200 week MA | $135.3 | 134% above |
LGND 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.
LGND Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $66.7 | $66.2 | -0.8% |
| 2021 | $66.2 | $100.6 | +52% |
| 2022 | $100.6 | $67.3 | -33% |
| 2023 | $67.3 | $71.4 | +6.1% |
| 2024 | $71.4 | $109.2 | +53% |
| 2025 | $109.2 | $195.8 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $195.8 | $316.3 | +62% |
LGND 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.