Money Matters, Simplified.
4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Novo Nordisk
Thu, 30/12/2010 - 10:14 by Brian D. Pacampara
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Danish diabetes-drug maker Novo Nordisk(NYSE: NVO) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Novo Nordisk's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now. Novo Nordisk facts CEO Lars Sorensen (since 2000) CFO Jesper Brandgaard (since 2000) Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) sanofi-aventis (NYSE: SNY) On CAPS, 96% of the 471 members who have rated Novo Nordisk believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include mitleg and KnockoutMouse. Just last month, mitleg tapped Novo Nordisk as a rather healthy opportunity: They are [an] all around great company. Good to work for. Clear leader in diabetes research. Surging sales. The growth rate is up there with your Apples andSalesforces of the world. It is a little pricey, but worth it for a market leader, and well-run company. As the clear leader in diabetes-care products, Novo Nordisk stands in an ideal position to benefit from an unfortunately growing diabetic population. Over the next five years, Novo Nordisk is even expected to grow profits at a faster pace (18.5% per annum) than rivals Eli Lilly (-6.5%), Pfizer (3%), and Sanofi (-3.9%), as well as other drug giants like Merck (NYSE:MRK) (5.8%) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) (3%). CAPS member KnockoutMouse lists several of Novo Nordisk's positives: 1. A clear leader in an industry with high barriers to competition. © 2010 UCLICK L.L.C.Headquarters (Founded) Bagsvaerd, Denmark (1925) Market Cap $76.27 billion Industry Pharmaceuticals Trailing-12-Month Revenue $10.15 billion Management Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 31.5% Dividend Yield 1.2% Competitors
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
2. Well managed and efficient: with a high ROIC and profit margin.
3. Strong balance sheet, free cash flow adequate to fund its dividend, and well managed debt.
4. A history of substantial dividends and dividend growth.
[Novo Nordisk] is the world leader in Diabetes care.
