Better Buy: Novo Nordisk vs. AstraZeneca

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ: AZN) are among the largest companies in the pharmaceutical industry. Both have generally produced strong financial results in 2024, but one wouldn't know it by looking at their stock market performances. AstraZeneca's shares are down by 2% over the trailing-12-month period, while Novo Nordisk's shares are in the red by 14%.It just so happens that these drugmakers have encountered issues in recent months that sank their stock prices, although there is a good chance they will recover and still deliver strong returns to patient investors. But which one is likely to perform better than the other? Let's find out.Novo Nordisk has been making breakthroughs in diabetes care for about 100 years. The company is still at it. As of August 2024, it had a 33.9% share of the diabetes care market, up from the 33.3% it held a year before. Novo Nordisk also boasted a 55.6% share of the GLP-1 drug space, compared to 54.4% as of August 2023. The company's most famous brands, Wegovy and Ozempic, are both GLP-1s. They have helped Novo Nordisk's financial results grow rapidly in recent years.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool