Novo Nordisk faces a rough patch
Novo’s shares have fallen 15% this year, tumbling further this week after guidance missed analysts’ targets.
Novo Nordisk, the GLP-leader, is facing a challenging period as its shares have plummeted 15% this year, slipping even more this week due to missed analyst targets. This downturn comes despite Novo Nordisk being the first to market with GLP-1s and briefly becoming Europe's most-valuable company. CEO Mike Doustdar celebrates his first anniversary this week, succeeding a predecessor who was dismissed for faltering at clinching that crown from Eli Lilly, which became the first pharmaceutical firm to achieve a $1 trillion market cap thanks to its Ozempic competitors.
Despite these setbacks, Novo Nordisk's CFO, Karsten Munk Knudsen, is on the phone, attempting to soothe investors. However, the market remains unconvinced, with rival Eli Lilly's latest report spurring a 5% surge in its stock. Knudsen emphasized that setting expectations and building models is the analysts' responsibility. Novo Nordisk has downsized its workforce by 15% and introduced a weight-loss pill, which the company claims enjoys a 90% market share.
Yet, investors attending Novo's capital-markets day next month might find little to get excited about, as Knudsen anticipates only "refinements" in strategy, not drastic changes.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written; read the original for the full account.
