Financial Contrast: Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) versus Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS)

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Novo Nordisk A/S has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Novo Nordisk A/S and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Novo Nordisk A/S	$329.43 billion	0.51	$15.51 billion	$4.09	9.12
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals	$606.33 million	5.28	-$66.42 million	($1.09)	-66.97

Novo Nordisk A/S has higher revenue and earnings than Tarsus Pharmaceuticals. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Novo Nordisk A/S, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Novo Nordisk A/S and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Novo Nordisk A/S	4	17	6	0	2.07
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals	1	1	7	1	2.80

Novo Nordisk A/S currently has a consensus target price of $102.85, suggesting a potential upside of 175.68%. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $100.86, suggesting a potential upside of 38.16%. Given Novo Nordisk A/S’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Novo Nordisk A/S is more favorable than Tarsus Pharmaceuticals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.5% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Novo Nordisk A/S shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Novo Nordisk A/S and Tarsus Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Novo Nordisk A/S	35.36%	58.61%	20.91%
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals	-7.67%	-13.53%	-8.12%

Summary

Novo Nordisk A/S beats Tarsus Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease. The Diabetes and Obesity care segment provides products for diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, and other emerging therapy areas. The Rare Disease segment offers products in the areas of rare blood disorders, rare endocrine disorders, and hormone replacement therapy. The company also provides insulin pens, growth hormone pens, and injection needles. In addition, it offers smart solutions for diabetes treatment, such as smart insulin pens and Dose Check, an insulin dose guidance application. The company has a collaboration agreement with Aspen Pharmaceuticals to produce insulin products; and with Korro Bio, Inc. for the discovery and development of new genetic medicines to treat cardiometabolic diseases. Novo Nordisk A/S was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic candidates for eye care in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is XDEMVY, a novel therapeutic for the treatment of blepharitis caused by the infestation of Demodex mites, as well as to treat meibomian gland disease. It is developing TP-04 for the treatment of rosacea; and TP-05 for Lyme prophylaxis and community malaria reduction. In addition, the company develops lotilaner to address diseases across therapeutic categories in human medicine, including eye care, dermatology, and other infectious disease prevention. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.