ICLR vs. NVO: ICON vs. Novo Nordisk Stock Comparison

Company Profile

ICON (ICLR) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but ICLR is classified in Life Sciences Tools & Services while NVO is classified in Pharmaceuticals.

ICON (ICLR) trades as ordinary local shares, while Novo Nordisk (NVO) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Novo Nordisk (NVO) is heavily traded at around 12.11M shares per day, whereas ICON (ICLR) sees a more moderate 943.50K — larger orders in the latter may require more patience and tighter control over order sizing.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 58.38% sits in the top ROE quartile, while ICON (ICLR) at 4.70% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for NVO.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 33.92% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and ICON (ICLR) at 5.26% also retains a top-quartile share.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 40.05% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of ICON (ICLR) at 10.73%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both ICON (ICLR) at 0.76% and Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 6.43% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 1.77% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while ICON (ICLR) at -71.56% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both ICON (ICLR) at 1.32 and Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 0.85 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Both ICON (ICLR) at 0.38 and Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 0.62 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

ICON (ICLR) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Novo Nordisk (NVO) reports a yield of 29.03%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ICON (ICLR) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Novo Nordisk (NVO) reports a payout of 45.36%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 10.18 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while ICON (ICLR) at 81.90 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

Both ICON (ICLR) at 1.86 and Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 0.53 fetch a relatively low price per dollar of sales, landing in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

ICON (ICLR) at 1.68 sits in the lower P/B ratio quartile against book while Novo Nordisk (NVO) at 5.43 is valued near its industry’s middle — ICLR is cheaper on assets, though weigh it against ROE and asset quality.

Valuation Metrics