Shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) are trading lower Wednesday morning, extending a dramatic sell-off from Tuesday’s session. Here’s what investors need to know.
What To Know: The downward momentum follows Tuesday’s announcement where the Danish pharmaceutical giant slashed its 2025 financial outlook for the second time this year, sending its stock plummeting by as much as 25%.
The revised forecast, which cut projected 2025 sales growth from a range of 13-21% down to 8-14%, was primarily blamed on persistent headwinds.
The company cited the unabated use of compounded GLP-1 alternatives in the United States, which has undercut demand for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.
Slower-than-expected market expansion and heightened competition, particularly from Eli Lilly And Co’s (NYSE:LLY) Zepbound, also contributed to the downgrade.
Adding to the negative sentiment, Barclays analyst Emily Field downgraded NVO from Overweight to Equal-Weight on Wednesday, fueling concerns about the company’s near-term growth prospects. The turmoil coincides with a leadership shakeup, with Maziar Mike Doustdar set to take over as CEO on August 7.
He faces the immediate challenge of restoring investor confidence by navigating the intense competitive landscape and tackling the unresolved issue of unregulated compounded drugs impacting the company’s key revenue streams.
Benzinga Edge Rankings: According to Benzinga Edge stock rankings, Novo Nordisk presents a mixed but telling financial profile. The stock scores strongly on Quality with a rating of 73.01, indicating it is a financially healthy and profitable company. Its Growth score is moderate at 53.84.
However, the data highlights significant concerns for investors. The Momentum score is extremely low at 12.38, reflecting the recent sharp sell-off, a fact corroborated by negative price trend indicators across short, medium, and long-term horizons.
Furthermore, its Value score is a very low 7.73, suggesting the stock is considered expensive relative to its fundamentals, even after the recent price drop.
Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, NVO shares are trading lower by 6.18% to $50.61 Wednesday morning. The stock has a 52-week high of $139.74 and a 52-week low of $50.57.
How To Buy NVO Stock
By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Novo Nordisk – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.
Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.
In the case of Novo Nordisk, which is trading at $50.61 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 1.976 shares of stock.
If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.
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