TLDR
- Novo Nordisk ADRs rose 6.1% to $42.64 before the open Wednesday.
- Wegovy pill sales hit 5.39 billion crowns, beating the 4.55 billion expected.
- Adjusted operating profit reached 31.7 billion crowns, above the 28.7 billion forecast.
- The 2026 outlook now runs from a 2% decline to 2% growth.
- Jefferies said pricing helped the sales beat and kept its “hold” rating.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock jumped Wednesday after the drugmaker beat third-quarter forecasts and lifted its 2026 outlook. The ADRs rose 6.1% to $42.64 before the opening bell.
They closed Tuesday at $40.19. Through that close, the stock was down 21% for the year.
Investors had been worried about slowing GLP-1 sales and pressure from Eli Lilly. Wednesday’s report gave buyers something to work with.
The headline number came from the Wegovy pill. Sales hit 5.39 billion Danish krone, about $810 million, against 4.55 billion expected by FactSet analysts.
A Beat on Every Major Line
Adjusted sales rose 6% to 79.2 billion crowns, up from 74.98 billion a year ago. Wall Street was looking for 73.6 billion.
Adjusted operating profit came in at 31.7 billion crowns versus 28.7 billion expected. That is up 27% from 23.68 billion at constant exchange rates.
Obesity care sales grew 22% to 26.15 billion crowns at constant exchange rates. Novo pointed to volume growth in the U.S. and international markets.
The pill is now sold in eight markets, including the U.S., Germany, the U.K., and the United Arab Emirates.
Novo raised its full-year view. It now expects adjusted sales and operating profit to range from a 2% decline to 2% growth, up from a prior range of a 6% decline to flat.
Free cash flow is now seen at 60 billion to 70 billion crowns. The earlier range was 45 billion to 55 billion, and consensus sat near 45 billion.
What Sits Under the Headline
Reported operating profit fell 9% to 23.01 billion crowns at constant exchange rates. Non-cash impairment charges of 8.7 billion crowns weighed on the figure.
Of that, 4.6 billion crowns was a write-down tied to ziltivekimab. Another 4.1 billion crowns was linked to restructuring the manufacturing network.
Jefferies said pricing helped the sales beat by about 2 billion crowns, mostly for injectable Wegovy. Without it, the beat would have been about 5%, and Wegovy would have missed estimates.
The firm said the new guidance could lift consensus forecasts by about 3 percentage points at the midpoint. It added that a CFO change “will probably raise some debate.”
Jefferies rates the stock “hold” with a price target of 275 crowns.
Novo also plans to cut the U.S. wholesale acquisition cost of Wegovy by about 50% and Ozempic by about 35%. Both will be priced at $675 starting Jan. 1, 2027.
Later in the session, Investing.com reported the ADRs trading up about 4%.
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