ARGX vs. NVS: argenx vs. Novartis Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but ARGX is classified in Biotechnology while NVS is classified in Pharmaceuticals.

Both argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS) trade as ADRs — their core financials are comparable, but keep FX, depositary-program fees, and dividend withholding in view for each.

Company profile comparison for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Profile Item	ARGX	NVS
Name	argenx SE American Depositary Receipt	Novartis AG Sponsored ADR
Country/Region	Netherlands	Switzerland
GICS Sector	Health Care	Health Care
GICS Industry Group	Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences	Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences
GICS Industry	Biotechnology	Pharmaceuticals
GICS Sub-Industry	Biotechnology	Pharmaceuticals
Market Capitalization	58.31 billion USD	307.00 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	May 18, 2017	November 7, 1996
Security Type	ADR	ADR

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ARGX

NVS

GSPC

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
Total Return (1Y)	11.91%	32.98%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	25.68%	24.72%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	24.22%	18.80%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ARGX

NVS

GSPC

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	37.87%	27.12%
Beta (5Y)	0.45	0.41
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-38.20%	-20.42%
Avg. Volume (3M)	359.84K	2.07M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ARGX and NVS are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.20	1.06
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.31	1.46

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Novartis (NVS) earns 24.33% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; argenx (ARGX) has no ROE this period.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

Max: 109.18%
Q3: 6.23%
Median: -26.66%
Q1: -64.05%
Min: -167.77%
ARGX: --

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

24.33%

Max: 109.18%
NVS: 24.33%
Q3: 6.23%
Median: -26.66%
Q1: -64.05%
Min: -167.77%

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): ARGX does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; NVS is benchmarked against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

argenx (ARGX) at 31.73% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and Novartis (NVS) at 17.49% also retains a top-quartile share.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

31.73%

ARGX: 31.73%
Max: 18.05%
Q3: 4.78%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -4.14%
Min: -17.05%

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

17.49%

Max: 18.05%
NVS: 17.49%
Q3: 4.78%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -4.14%
Min: -17.05%

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their net margin against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both argenx (ARGX) at 36.27% and Novartis (NVS) at 34.27% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

36.27%

Max: 83.12%
ARGX: 36.27%
Q3: 14.77%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -78.82%
Min: -207.40%

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

34.27%

Max: 83.12%
NVS: 34.27%
Q3: 14.77%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: -78.82%
Min: -207.40%

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
ROE (TTM)	--	24.33%
ROA (TTM)	--	10.86%
Net Margin (TTM)	31.73%	17.49%
Operating Margin (TTM)	36.27%	34.27%
Gross Margin (TTM)	59.84%	75.21%

Growth

Revenue Growth

argenx (ARGX) at 89.64% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Novartis (NVS) at 9.57% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for ARGX.

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both argenx (ARGX) at 53.13% and Novartis (NVS) at 21.81% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	89.64%	9.57%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	116.25%	9.25%
EPS Growth (YoY)	53.13%	21.81%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	31.14%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Short-term liquidity can only be read on one side of this pairing: Novartis (NVS) shows current ratio of 0.88 against its industry benchmark, while argenx (ARGX) has no reading this period.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

Max: 25.13
Q3: 12.13
Median: 5.52
Q1: 2.47
Min: 0.10
ARGX: --

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.88

Max: 25.13
Q3: 12.13
Median: 5.52
Q1: 2.47
NVS: 0.88
Min: 0.10

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): ARGX does not report current ratio, so it has no value marker; NVS is benchmarked against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

argenx (ARGX) at 0.01 keeps leverage in the lower quartile, while Novartis (NVS) at 1.29 sits in the higher-leverage quartile.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.01

Max: 1.42
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.15
Q1: 0.02
ARGX: 0.01
Min: 0.00

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

1.29

Max: 1.42
NVS: 1.29
Q3: 0.65
Median: 0.15
Q1: 0.02
Min: 0.00

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	0.88
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.01	1.29
Net Debt / EBITDA	-2.70	1.64

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

argenx (ARGX) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Novartis (NVS) reports a yield of 2.88%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

ARGX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

2.88%

NVS: 2.88%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

argenx (ARGX) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Novartis (NVS) reports a payout of 90.46%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

0.00%

ARGX: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

90.46%

NVS: 90.46%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	2.88%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	90.46%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both argenx (ARGX) at 32.12 and Novartis (NVS) at 31.02 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

32.12

Max: 85.34
Q3: 43.46
ARGX: 32.12
Median: 26.69
Q1: 13.30
Min: 0.07

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

31.02

Max: 85.34
Q3: 43.46
NVS: 31.02
Median: 26.69
Q1: 13.30
Min: 0.07

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both argenx (ARGX) at 9.86 and Novartis (NVS) at 5.35 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

9.86

Max: 58.18
Q3: 25.77
ARGX: 9.86
Median: 7.30
Q1: 3.01
Min: 0.01

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

5.35

Max: 58.18
Q3: 25.77
Median: 7.30
NVS: 5.35
Q1: 3.01
Min: 0.01

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both look rich against book: Novartis (NVS) at 8.25 sits in the upper P/B ratio quartile, and argenx (ARGX) at 172.23 prices even higher, above its industry range.

ARGX

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

172.23

ARGX: 172.23
Max: 13.53
Q3: 6.54
Median: 3.25
Q1: 1.69
Min: -5.59

NVS

Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group

8.25

Max: 13.53
NVS: 8.25
Q3: 6.54
Median: 3.25
Q1: 1.69
Min: -5.59

argenx (ARGX) vs. Novartis (NVS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for argenx (ARGX) and Novartis (NVS)
Metric	ARGX	NVS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	32.12	31.02
P/S Ratio (TTM)	9.86	5.35
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	172.23	8.25
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	3.67%