Well being-related shares aren’t having a superb day. First, America’s largest medical insurance supplier, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), noticed its inventory drop greater than 4% this morning after the corporate introduced disappointing second-quarter outcomes and a full-year 2025 forecast that involved buyers. And now, the Danish pharmaceutical big Novo Nordisk A/S, whose shares (NYSE: NVO) commerce on the New York Inventory Trade, is seeing its inventory value plunge, too.
Presently, NVO shares are down greater than 20% on the time of this writing. However in contrast to UnitedHealth Group, Novo Nordisk has not reported its most up-to-date quarterly outcomes. So what’s sending its shares decrease? Right here’s what it’s worthwhile to know.
Novo Nordisk cuts full-year 2025 steerage
The primary driver of Novo Nordisk’s important share value fall right this moment is the corporate’s announcement that it’s revising its beforehand printed gross sales development and working revenue development for its full fiscal 12 months 2025.
On Might 7, Novo Nordisk said that it anticipated full-year fiscal 2025 gross sales development to be between 13% and 21%. On the similar time, it mentioned it anticipated its working revenue development to be between 16% and 24%.
Now, nevertheless, the corporate had drastically minimize each forecasts. Novo Nordisk now says it expects full-year fiscal 2025 gross sales development to be between 8% and 14% and working revenue development to be between 10% and 16%.
In a press release, the corporate mentioned its “lowered gross sales outlook for 2025 is pushed by decrease development expectations for the second half of 2025.”
This lowered development is because of decrease development expectations for its GLP-1 weight reduction and diabetes medication, Wegovy and Ozempic, within the U.S. market.
“For Wegovy within the US, the gross sales outlook displays the persistent use of compounded GLP-1s, slower-than-expected market growth and competitors,” the corporate mentioned. It added that so far as Ozempic was involved, “the up to date outlook is negatively impacted by competitors within the U.S.”
Novo Nordisk’s foremost competitor within the GLP-1 enviornment is the American pharmaceutical big Eli Lilly, who makes the medication Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Novo Nordisk names new CEO
Apart from revising its 2025 development forecasts downward, Novo Nordisk additionally made one other announcement right this moment: It named a brand new CEO.
Nonetheless, this announcement in all probability had little to do with the inventory’s fall this morning. Again in Might, Novo Nordisk introduced that its longtime CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen could be stepping apart. On the time, the corporate cited its declining share value as one of many causes for the CEO shakeup. It additionally mentioned Jørgensen would keep on as CEO till a successor was discovered.
Now, one has been. Right this moment, Novo Nordisk introduced that Maziar Mike Doustdar will probably be assuming the place of president and chief govt officer, efficient August 7, 2025. Doustdar is at present the corporate’s govt vice chairman of worldwide operations.
Saying Doustdar’s ascent to the CEO function, Novo Nordisk chair Helge Lund mentioned: “This is a vital second for Novo Nordisk. The market is creating quickly, and the corporate wants to deal with latest market challenges with velocity and ambition. I imagine Novo Nordisk will construct on its strengths as a worldwide chief in weight problems and diabetes, and Mike has a transparent imaginative and prescient of how you can unlock the complete potential of the alternatives forward.”
Doustdar will formally take over as CEO sooner or later after the corporate experiences its second quarter 2025 outcomes on August 6.
Novo Nordisk shares have fallen dramatically since final summer season
Whereas the GLP-1 medication Wegovy and Ozempic have been an enormous supply of development and income at Novo Nordisk within the first half of this decade, lately, the corporate has confronted elevated competitors within the GLP-1 market, which has partly contributed to investor considerations.
Partially because of this, Novo Nordisk inventory has steadily declined since final summer season. Over the previous 12 months, NVO shares are down greater than 57%. And because the starting of 2025, the corporate’s share value has declined greater than 35%.
As of the time of this writing, NVO shares are down simply over 20% this morning to $55.17 per share.
