NVO
Novo Nordisk A/S
NVO offers stronger modeled upside, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
QGEN
Qiagen N.V.
QGEN has the edge over NVO overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
NVO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
NVO's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
QGEN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
QGEN's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
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 QGEN in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
QGEN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $50.10 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $41.00 | -18% |
| Fair | 26x | $51.64 | +3.1% |
| Current | 26x | $50.10 | — |
| Expensive | 99x | $194 | +287% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
QGEN's PE is in its fair range at 26x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 20x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
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.
QGEN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Limited | |
| High |
QGEN has the edge over NVO on the outlook, with more favorable earnings and profitability expectations.
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.
QGEN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.54 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.95 | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.89 | +340% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.97 | +418% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.86 | +354% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.70 | +431% |
| Q1 2025 | $0.43 | -72% |
| Q4 2024 | $0.38 | -75% |
| Q3 2024 | $0.41 | -72% |
QGEN earned $1.95 per share over the past year, up 15% from the year before.
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 QGEN on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
QGEN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $535M | +0.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $492.3M | +1.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $540.4M | +3.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $532.6M | +6.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $533.5M | +7.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $483.5M | +5.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $521.2M | +2.4% |
| Q3 2024 | $501.9M | +5.5% |
QGEN's revenue has grown year over year for nine quarters in a row: $535M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 25% | +1.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 28% | +5.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +1.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +69 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +3.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 23% | +1.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 22% | +1.9 points |
QGEN's operating margin was 25% last quarter, up 1.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
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 QGEN on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
QGEN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $157.8M | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $53.7M | -44% |
| Q4 2025 | $117.2M | -17% |
| Q3 2025 | $119M | -14% |
| Q2 2025 | $120.6M | -5.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $95.8M | +1.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $141.9M | +43% |
| Q3 2024 | $138M | +65% |
QGEN generated $448M in free cash flow over the past year, down 9.8% 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.
QGEN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -1.1M shares |
| 1 year | -4.7% | -10.4M shares |
| 3 years | -7.1% | -15.8M shares |
| 5 years | -10% | -24.1M shares |
| Available history | -8.3% | -18.7M shares |
QGEN has the edge over NVO on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $496.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $2.7M |
| Q3 2025 | $9.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $10.3M |
| Q1 2025 | $280.1M |
| Q4 2024 | $906,000 |
| Q3 2024 | $6.2M |
QGEN spent $509M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 71% from the year before.
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 QGEN on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
QGEN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.4x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 1.1x | Healthy |
| Q2 2025 | 1.0x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2024 | 2.6x | Moderate |
| Q3 2024 | 2.6x | Moderate |
QGEN's net debt is about 1.2 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from a year a year ago.
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).
QGEN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 71.4 | Overbought |
| Stochastic | 92.8 | Overbought |
QGEN's weekly RSI is 71 (overbought) and its Stochastic is 93 (overbought).
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 QGEN on valuation relative to its sector.
QGEN PE vs Healthcare Sector
| Metric | QGEN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 26x | 26x | 0.6% below |
| PE % | 44 | 29 | 15 pts above |
QGEN is trading at 26x earnings, in line with the Healthcare sector's median of 26x.
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.
QGEN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $47.7 | 5.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $44.4 | 13% above |
| 50 week MA | $43.5 | 15% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.1 | 14% above |
| 200 week MA | $43.9 | 14% above |
QGEN has the edge over NVO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
QGEN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.9 | $52.6 | +55% |
| 2021 | $52.6 | $55.7 | +5.8% |
| 2022 | $55.7 | $49.7 | -11% |
| 2023 | $49.7 | $43.8 | -12% |
| 2024 | $43.8 | $44.0 | +0.5% |
| 2025 | $44.0 | $47.8 | +8.6% |
| 2026 YTD | $47.8 | $50.1 | +4.9% |
QGEN has the edge over NVO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.