Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. NBIX scored 87.2, AZN scored 72.0 — NBIX leads.
Compare another set
Different reporting periods. NBIX's fundamentals are as of June 2026, but AZN's are as of December 2025 — a 6-month gap. Growth, margin and valuation figures below therefore describe different windows and aren't strictly like-for-like.
NBIX
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.
Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic · Quality-Growth
87.2
$142.44 · $14.5B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
15.2
NBIX leads
AZN
AstraZeneca PLC
Drug Manufacturers - General · Quality-Growth
72
$159.20 · $246.9B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestNBIX20.9x
Fastest growthNBIX+34.4%
Strongest balance sheetNBIX0.12
Highest qualityNBIX80 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueNBIX-24%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
NBIX
stronger →← stronger
AZN
80
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
78
96
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
78
86
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
61
NBIX is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
NBIX
AZN
$870mC+
FCF
$11.8bA-
+34.4%A
Rev
+8.6%B
0.12B+
D/E
0.64C+
20.9xB+
P/E
23.8xB+
0.28A
PEG
1.12B+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
NBIX
AZN
24% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
11% above
~7%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~12%/yr
+5%
1-yr DCF upside
-22%
+32%
5-yr DCF upside
-10%
+85%
10-yr DCF upside
+10%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic · market cap $14.5b. Down 23% from 52-week high of $186.12 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +34% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.28 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 29 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $207.29 (implying +46% upside).
Moat
Net margin 21% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 19% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 123% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trial-readout binary — late-stage clinical trials carry approve/reject outcomes that swing valuation 30%+; the equity is effectively a portfolio of these binary events, not a steady cash-flow business.
AZNAstraZeneca PLC
Drug Manufacturers - General · $159.20 · beta 0.21
Why now
Drug Manufacturers - General · market cap $246.9b. Down 25% from 52-week high of $212.71 — deep drawdown territory. 12 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $206.91 (implying +30% upside).
Moat
Net margin 17% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 21% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. FCF converts 115% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Trial-readout binary — late-stage clinical trials carry approve/reject outcomes that swing valuation 30%+; the equity is effectively a portfolio of these binary events, not a steady cash-flow business.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
The model favors NBIX (88.3) over AZN (75.7) due to NBIX's superior Growth pillar of 96, evidenced by its A-grade revenue growth of +34.4%. A contrarian might still prefer AZN, which is raising its dividend, especially as NBIX carries a "Diluting shareholders" caution signal.
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where NBIX and AZN diverge
On the headline score the gap is 15.2 points in favor of NBIX. The widest single difference is Value, where NBIX leads by 24.9 points.
ValueNBIX 86.0 · AZN 61.1NBIX +24.9
GrowthNBIX 95.9 · AZN 78.5NBIX +17.4
QualityNBIX 80.5 · AZN 77.8level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is NBIX or AZN the better stock?
NBIX scores higher: NBIX 87.2, AZN 72.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do NBIX and AZN differ most?
The widest gap is value, where NBIX leads by 25 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. NBIX also leads growth, while quality is effectively level between them.
How are NBIX and AZN scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.