NUVB vs MRK vs GSK Stock Comparison

Nuvation Bio, Merck and Gsk Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NUVB Nuvation Bio Inc.
$4.60 -18.0% 1M -14.3% 1Y
Market cap
$1.67B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$169.90M
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
1 win
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.04 -5.2% 1M +62.1% 1Y
Market cap
$366.10B
P/E
115.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
4 wins
GSK GSK plc
$48.76 -1.9% 1M +11.6% 1Y
Market cap
$98.05B
P/E
7.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$76.96B
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Gsk leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Gsk 5, Merck 4, Nuvation Bio 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNUVBMRKGSKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.67B $366.10B $98.05B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -11.1x 115.4x 7.8x GSK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 56.9x 9.6x GSK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1,083.6% +4.6% +82.9% NUVB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -88.2% 4.8% 16.4% GSK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 3.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.9x 3.6x — MRK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -14.3% +62.1% +11.6% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.9%/yr +9.9%/yr +2.9%/yr MRK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 78.8% 29.6% 26.5% GSK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 62/100 80/100 GSK

Percentile Scorecard

NUVBMRKGSK

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

AxisNUVBMRKGSK
Valuation 59 #257 of 625 81 #120 of 625 91 #56 of 625
Growth 60 #239 of 602 36 #383 of 602 75 #151 of 602
Profitability 65 #191 of 549 91 #53 of 549 96 #25 of 549
Financial Health 67 #218 of 654 20 #523 of 654 52 #313 of 654
Shareholder Returns 65 #131 of 367 81 #69 of 367 85 #56 of 367
Overall 63 62 80
  • NUVB ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • GSK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNUVBMRKGSKSPY
1 month -18.0%-5.2%-1.9% +0.9%
3 months -30.1%+8.2%-8.4% +5.9%
6 months +6.0%+27.1%-5.1% +8.5%
Year to date -48.7%+34.0%-0.6% +13.3%
1 year -14.3%+62.1%+11.6% +12.4%
3 years +351.0%+37.2%+41.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +65.3%+11.1%+12.2% +23.5%
5 years -49.8%+60.2%+15.2% +68.2%
5 years, per year -12.9%+9.9%+2.9% +11.0%
10 years —+139.7%+21.5% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+9.1%+2.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNUVBMRKGSKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 78.8%29.6%26.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 76.7%24.5%24.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.630.120.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.182.100.44 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -90.4%-44.7%-38.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -51.8%-9.8%-20.3% -0.9%
52-week high $9.54$156.45$61.18 $779.14
52-week low $4.05$82.49$43.70 $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.

MultipleNUVBMRKGSK
P/E now vs peer median -10.7xmedian 17.4x 109.8xmedian 17.4x 7.8xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 9.1x 5.2xmedian 9.1x 1.4xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -7.0xmedian 17.1x 30.1xmedian 17.1x —median 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -12.4xmedian 19.0x 21.7xmedian 19.0x —median 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 2.2x 8.3xmedian 2.2x 4.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 8.17median 0.34 69.11median 0.34 0.42median 0.34

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 monthsNUVBMRKGSK
Revenue $169.90M $66.57B $76.96B
Gross profit – $48.57B $56.19B
Operating income -$137.63M $6.38B $17.15B
Net income -$149.83M $3.17B $2.75B
Free cash flow -$128.93M $16.06B –
R&D $128.85M $30.45B $19.61B
EPS (diluted) $-0.43 $1.28 $6.12
Cash & equivalents $258.60M $6.85B $3.88B
Total debt $5.89M $53.91B -$31.50B
Shares (diluted) 348.77M 2.47B 2.06B
Enterprise value -$605.82M $320.48B $80.90B

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
MetricNUVBMRKGSK
P/E -10.7x 109.8x 7.8x
P/FCF -12.4x 21.7x –
P/Operating cash flow -13.2x 17.4x –
P/S 9.4x 5.2x 1.4x
P/B 6.3x 8.3x 4.3x
P/Tangible book 6.5x 20.5x -11.7x
EV/EBITDA -7.0x 30.1x –
EV/EBIT -6.8x 61.9x 4.1x
EV/Revenue 5.5x 5.9x 0.9x
EV/FCF -7.3x 24.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow -7.8x 19.8x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 8.17 69.11 0.42

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNUVBMRKGSK
Revenue growth (1Y) 1,084% 4.6% 82.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.5% 28.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -0.3% 84.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 4.5% 29.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 38.7% -66.6% 73.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -9.0% 1.9% 20.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 26.2% -80.7% -70.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -18.3% 0.5% -48.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 27.9% -80.3% 75.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -1.3% 1.6% 18.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.3% 7.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -14.1% 9.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 23.5% 9.1% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -16.6% 14.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNUVBMRKGSK
Gross margin – 73.0% 73.0%
EBITDA margin -79.0% 19.7% –
Operating margin -81.0% 9.6% 22.3%
Pretax margin -88.2% 8.9% 20.5%
Net margin -88.2% 4.8% 16.4%
FCF margin -75.9% 24.1% –
Operating cash flow margin -70.9% 30.0% –
Return on equity -52.3% 7.2% 71.9%
Return on assets -22.1% 2.5% 19.2%
Return on invested capital – 3.6% –
Return on capital employed -23.3% 6.3% 14.8%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 6.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 20.9% 1.3% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNUVBMRKGSK
Debt / assets 0.8% 41.5% -33.2%
Debt / equity 0.0x 1.3x -1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 4.9x 3.6x –
Debt / FCF 0.0x 3.4x –
Liabilities / assets 65.9% 67.7% 74.4%
Equity / assets 34.1% 32.3% 25.6%
Interest coverage -5.2x – 10.1x
Current ratio 8.4x 1.3x -0.9x
Quick ratio 7.9x 0.7x -0.5x
Cash ratio 7.6x 0.3x -0.1x
Altman Z-score 0.39 3.82 3.19

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNUVBMRKGSK
Dividend yield – 2.4% 3.7%
Net buyback yield -0.7% 1.1% –
Shareholder yield -0.7% 3.5% 3.7%
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.

ConsensusNUVBMRKGSK
Forward P/E – 56.9xFY2026 9.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.38FY2026 $2.48FY2026 $5.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -72.4%FY2026 +7.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +257.3% +4.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $187.51MFY2026 $69.45BFY2026 $48.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +198.1%FY2026 +6.8%FY2026 +7.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +52.8% -3.8% +1.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNUVBMRKGSK
Held by institutions 66.6% 79.9% 16.0%
Institutions holding 238 3,797 1,037
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% +2.6% -7.4%
Institutions buying 148 1,843 484
Institutions selling 50 1,464 334
Buyers to sellers 2.96 1.26 1.45

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.

NUVBMRKGSK
NUVB 1.00 0.19 0.10
MRK 0.19 1.00 0.52
GSK 0.10 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NUVB, MRK and GSK?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nuvation Bio (NUVB) $1.67B, Merck (MRK) $366.10B, Gsk (GSK) $98.05B.

Which stock is cheaper, NUVB, MRK and GSK?

Gsk (GSK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -11.1x, Merck (MRK) 115.4x, Gsk (GSK) 7.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gsk (GSK) is cheapest (Merck (MRK) 56.9x, Gsk (GSK) 9.6x). 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%, Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Gsk (GSK) +82.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gsk (GSK) has the highest net margin (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -88.2%, Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Gsk (GSK) 16.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -14.3%, Merck (MRK) +62.1%, Gsk (GSK) +11.6%. Over five years, Merck (MRK) compounded fastest (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -12.9%/yr, Merck (MRK) +9.9%/yr, Gsk (GSK) +2.9%/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%, Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Gsk (GSK) 0.00%. Nuvation Bio (NUVB) and Gsk (GSK) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gsk (GSK) has been the steadiest (Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 78.8%, Merck (MRK) 29.6%, Gsk (GSK) 26.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Gsk (GSK) leads on 5. 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.