Novo Nordisk launched a pill version of Wegovy alongside the injectable version earlier this year.
Novo Nordisk stock jumped higher on Wednesday as the Danish drugmaker lifted its guidance on strong uptake of its weight-loss drug pill that was launched this year.
The 102-year-old company cited "increased expectations for GLP-1 product sales" as it lifted its 2026 outlook for both sales and adjusted operating profit growth to be in a range of -2% to 2%, at constant exchange rates - both about three percentage points higher than Wall Street expectations heading into its third-quarter report. Novo started the year warning that profits could fall between 5% and 13%.
It said third-quarter sales rose 6% to 79.19 billion Danish kroner ($11.9 billion), coming in 8% ahead of analyst estimates, according to FactSet. Its operating profit, though down 3% on the quarter, also beat projections.
The Wegovy pill accounted for 5.39 billion kroner in sales, about a quarter of what its injectable counterpart took in. Its injectable diabetes products, including Ozempic, accounted for 29.81 billion kroner of sales, down 5% year-on-year. Analysts at the research firm Alphavalue blamed pricing pressure and intense competition from Eli Lilly.
The stock (DK:NOVO.B) (NVO) gained 6% in early trading but is worth roughly one-quarter of what it was at its 2024 peak.
Novo also said its chief financial offer Karsten Munk Knudsen would step down, to be replaced by Luigi La Corte, previously of Swiss pharmaceutical company Galderma (CH:GALD).
"Overall, these results should provide some relief for Novo's beleaguered investors," said the Alphavalue team.
"The firm may return to a better growth from 2027 onwards and we see promising obesity/diabetes assets in Novo's pipeline as well, however, Novo's management in on the clock to diversify its offerings and avoid any patent cliff situation when Wegovy/Ozempic lose patents from 2031 onwards."
-Steve Goldstein
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