07 August 2024
If you are covering Novo Nordisk’s latest results, please find below a comment from Sheena Berry, healthcare analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“Compared to some of its large competitors, Novo Nordisk delivered somewhat of a messy quarter. Its results were slightly mixed, with second quarter sales in line with expectations, but earnings per share missed what analysts expected.
“The story of the last 18 months for Novo Nordisk has been the success of its key drugs, Ozempic, which is approved for type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy, the group’s obesity drug. However, both actually missed expectations, with Wegovy in particular struggling due to rebate adjustments. This has weighed on the share price, which has fallen more than 5% in reaction to the results.
“Ultimately, expectations for Novo Nordisk are high. The obesity story has dominated the narrative in healthcare since the end of the Covid boom and Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been the big winners. We will hear from Eli Lilly tomorrow and there have been supply constraints on the obesity drugs due to the significant demand. Newer obesity drugs are being worked on and we will hear Phase III data from Novo Nordisk’s CagriSema by the end of the year.
“Novo also trades at such a significant premium to peers that it can’t afford messy quarters. But the growth outlook remains impressive, and some of the supply constraints will continue to subside. There is no fundamental issues here just not a quarter of clean delivery, but investors will watch this closely.”
