NUVB vs ABBV vs MRK Stock Comparison

Nuvation Bio, AbbVie and Merck Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NUVB Nuvation Bio Inc.
$4.51 -21.2% 1M -7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.58B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$169.90M
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
1 win
ABBV AbbVie Inc.
$286.86 +8.5% 1M +25.8% 1Y
Market cap
$507.17B
P/E
80.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$64.39B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
9 wins
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$140.60 -5.5% 1M +60.7% 1Y
Market cap
$350.25B
P/E
110.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

AbbVie leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (AbbVie 9, Nuvation Bio 1, Merck 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNUVBABBVMRKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.58B $507.17B $350.25B ABBV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -10.6x 80.4x 110.4x ABBV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 21.4x 56.7x ABBV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1,083.6% +10.4% +4.6% NUVB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -88.2% 9.8% 4.8% ABBV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 18.7% 3.6% ABBV
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.9x 2.6x 3.6x ABBV
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.0% +25.8% +60.7% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -14.0%/yr +21.5%/yr +11.5%/yr ABBV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 79.2% 26.0% 29.7% ABBV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 68/100 62/100 ABBV

Percentile Scorecard

NUVBABBVMRK

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisNUVBABBVMRK
Valuation 60 #252 of 626 95 #31 of 626 80 #129 of 626
Growth 61 #237 of 604 54 #281 of 604 36 #387 of 604
Profitability 65 #194 of 555 95 #30 of 555 90 #54 of 555
Financial Health 67 #219 of 658 16 #554 of 658 20 #528 of 658
Shareholder Returns 64 #133 of 368 80 #74 of 368 83 #62 of 368
Overall 63 68 62
  • NUVB ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ABBV ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNUVBABBVMRKSPY
1 month -21.2%+8.5%-5.5% -0.8%
3 months -32.3%+11.7%+7.5% +3.5%
6 months -1.1%+45.3%+27.6% +7.0%
Year to date -49.7%+25.5%+33.6% +12.2%
1 year -7.0%+25.8%+60.7% +13.0%
3 years +342.2%+106.5%+36.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +64.2%+27.4%+11.0% +23.1%
5 years -53.0%+164.6%+72.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year -14.0%+21.5%+11.5% +11.0%
10 years —+370.1%+131.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+16.7%+8.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNUVBABBVMRKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 79.2%26.0%29.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 76.7%24.9%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.64-0.160.12 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.090.992.05 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -90.4%-24.3%-44.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -52.7%-0.7%-10.1% -1.8%
52-week high $9.54$288.96$156.45 $779.14
52-week low $4.05$197.38$82.49 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleNUVBABBVMRK
P/E now vs peer median -10.5xmedian 17.1x 80.4xmedian 17.1x 109.4xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 8.8x 7.9xmedian 8.8x 5.2xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -6.8xmedian 17.1x 23.0xmedian 17.1x 30.1xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.1xmedian 18.0x 27.8xmedian 18.0x 21.6xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 6.2xmedian 2.1x -85.4xmedian 2.1x 8.3xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 8.01median 0.31 -7.96median 0.31 68.89median 0.31

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsNUVBABBVMRK
Revenue $169.90M $64.39B $66.57B
Gross profit – $46.02B $48.57B
Operating income -$137.63M $16.87B $6.38B
Net income -$149.83M $6.32B $3.17B
Free cash flow -$128.93M $18.21B $16.06B
R&D $128.85M $9.71B $30.45B
EPS (diluted) $-0.43 $3.56 $1.28
Cash & equivalents $258.60M $6.57B $6.85B
Total debt $5.89M $70.82B $53.91B
Shares (diluted) 348.77M 1.77B 2.47B
Enterprise value -$691.27M $480.28B $304.62B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricNUVBABBVMRK
P/E -10.5x 80.4x 109.4x
P/FCF -12.1x 27.8x 21.6x
P/Operating cash flow -13.0x 26.0x 17.4x
P/S 9.2x 7.9x 5.2x
P/B 6.2x -85.4x 8.3x
P/Tangible book 6.4x -9.2x 20.4x
EV/EBITDA -6.8x 23.0x 30.1x
EV/EBIT -6.6x 33.9x 61.7x
EV/Revenue 5.3x 8.9x 5.9x
EV/FCF -7.0x 31.4x 24.5x
EV/Operating cash flow -7.5x 29.3x 19.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 8.01 -7.96 68.89

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNUVBABBVMRK
Revenue growth (1Y) 1,084% 10.4% 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.7% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 11.2% -0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 6.0% 4.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 38.7% 53.8% -66.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -9.0% -1.0% 1.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 26.2% 67.5% -80.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -18.3% -10.1% 0.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 27.9% 67.7% -80.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -1.3% -10.1% 1.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.3% 1.2% 7.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.1% -8.6% 9.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.5% -0.2% 9.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.6% -9.8% 14.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNUVBABBVMRK
Gross margin – 71.5% 73.0%
EBITDA margin -79.0% 38.5% 19.7%
Operating margin -81.0% 26.2% 9.6%
Pretax margin -88.2% 13.5% 8.9%
Net margin -88.2% 9.8% 4.8%
FCF margin -75.9% 28.3% 24.1%
Operating cash flow margin -70.9% 30.3% 30.0%
Return on equity -52.3% – 7.2%
Return on assets -22.1% 4.7% 2.5%
Return on invested capital – 18.7% 3.6%
Return on capital employed -23.3% 17.9% 6.3%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 3.1x 6.3x
Stock comp / revenue 20.9% 1.5% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNUVBABBVMRK
Debt / assets 0.8% 52.4% 41.5%
Debt / equity 0.0x -11.9x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.9x 2.6x 3.6x
Debt / FCF 0.0x 3.9x 3.4x
Liabilities / assets 65.9% 104.4% 67.7%
Equity / assets 34.1% -4.4% 32.3%
Interest coverage -5.2x – –
Current ratio 8.4x 0.8x 1.3x
Quick ratio 7.9x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash ratio 7.6x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 0.35 2.79 3.81

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNUVBABBVMRK
Dividend yield – 2.4% 2.4%
Net buyback yield -0.7% 0.3% 1.1%
Shareholder yield -0.7% 2.7% 3.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 261.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 51.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 4.7%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusNUVBABBVMRK
Forward P/E – 21.4xFY2026 56.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.38FY2026 $13.38FY2026 $2.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +33.8%FY2026 -72.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +25.8% +257.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $187.51MFY2026 $69.55BFY2026 $69.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +198.1%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +52.8% -0.6% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNUVBABBVMRK
Held by institutions 66.6% 74.9% 79.9%
Institutions holding 238 4,173 3,794
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% +2.6% +2.6%
Institutions buying 148 2,201 1,840
Institutions selling 50 1,502 1,464
Buyers to sellers 2.96 1.47 1.26

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

NUVBABBVMRK
NUVB 1.00 0.09 0.19
ABBV 0.09 1.00 0.42
MRK 0.19 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NUVB, ABBV and MRK?

AbbVie (ABBV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nuvation Bio (NUVB) $1.58B, AbbVie (ABBV) $507.17B, Merck (MRK) $350.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, NUVB, ABBV and MRK?

AbbVie (ABBV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -10.6x, AbbVie (ABBV) 80.4x, Merck (MRK) 110.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, AbbVie (ABBV) is cheapest (AbbVie (ABBV) 21.4x, Merck (MRK) 56.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nuvation Bio (NUVB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nuvation Bio (NUVB) +1,083.6%, AbbVie (ABBV) +10.4%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

AbbVie (ABBV) has the highest net margin (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -88.2%, AbbVie (ABBV) 9.8%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%). On return on invested capital, AbbVie (ABBV) leads (AbbVie (ABBV) 18.7%, Merck (MRK) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -7.0%, AbbVie (ABBV) +25.8%, Merck (MRK) +60.7%. Over five years, AbbVie (ABBV) compounded fastest (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -14.0%/yr, AbbVie (ABBV) +21.5%/yr, Merck (MRK) +11.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 0.00%, AbbVie (ABBV) 0.00%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%. Nuvation Bio (NUVB) and AbbVie (ABBV) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, AbbVie (ABBV) has been the steadiest (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 79.2%, AbbVie (ABBV) 26.0%, Merck (MRK) 29.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NUVB, ABBV and MRK?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AbbVie (ABBV) leads on 9. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.