Key Stats for Novo Nordisk Stock
- Pre-market Price Change for Novo Nordisk stock: -10%
- $NVO Share Price as of Nov. 21: $47.63
- 52-Week High: $112.52
- $NVO Stock Price Target: $56.32
Now Live: Discover how much upside your favorite stocks could have using TIKR’s new Valuation Model (It’s free)>>>
What Happened?
Novo Nordisk (NVO) stock is down almost 10% in pre-market trading after the Danish pharmaceutical giant announced disappointing results from a highly anticipated Alzheimer’s disease trial. The trial tested whether semaglutide, the active ingredient in blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, could slow Alzheimer’s progression. It didn’t work.
The Evoke and Evoke+ Phase 3 trials enrolled 3,808 adults with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Patients took oral semaglutide or a placebo on top of standard care for two years.
While treatment with semaglutide improved Alzheimer’s-related biomarkers in both trials, this didn’t translate into slowing disease progression as measured by the Clinical Dementia Rating score.
The company will discontinue the one-year extension period based on these results. Novo Nordisk will present topline results at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease conference on December 3, with full results to be presented at the Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases Conferences in March 2026.
Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nordisk’s chief scientific officer, acknowledged the low likelihood of success going into the trial but said the company felt it had a responsibility to explore semaglutide’s potential given the significant unmet need in Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 37 million patient-years of semaglutide exposure have occurred across diverse populations, and the drug continues to provide benefits for type 2 diabetes, obesity, and related conditions.
The failed trial adds to mounting challenges for Novo Nordisk stock this year as shares have tumbled more than 50% in 2025, while losing two-thirds of their value over the past 18 months.
The company, once Europe’s most valuable firm, has faced a series of headwinds including disappointing trial results, increasing competition in the obesity drug space, U.S. drug pricing pressures and leadership changes.
See analysts’ growth forecasts and price targets for Novo Nordisk stock (It’s free!) >>>
What the Market Is Telling Us About NVO Stock
The market is clearly worried about Novo Nordisk’s ability to compete in the intensifying weight loss drug market.
Arch-rival Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound have come on strong, with Lilly’s revenue growing significantly faster than Novo Nordisk’s over the past year.
Novo Nordisk reported third-quarter results in early November that highlighted these competitive pressures.
The company narrowed its full-year guidance for the fourth time in 2025, now expecting sales growth of 8% to 11% at constant exchange rates, down from a previous forecast of 8% to 14%. Operating profit growth expectations dropped to 4% to 7% from 4% to 10%.
Sales of Wegovy rose 18% year-over-year to 20.35 billion Danish kroner in the quarter, slightly below analyst expectations of 21.35 billion kroner. CEO Mike Doustdar acknowledged the lower growth expectations for GLP-1 treatments led to the guidance cut.
In response, Novo Nordisk stock holders are watching the company take aggressive action. The Danish drugmaker slashed prices on Ozempic and Wegovy for self-paying U.S. patients from $499 per month to $349, with first-time patients paying just $199 for their first two doses.
This puts the drugs on approximate price parity with Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.
The price cuts target both Eli Lilly and telehealth companies like Hims & Hers Health that sell compounded semaglutide at lower prices.
Hims & Hers charges as little as $199 per month for compounded semaglutide under FDA loopholes that regulators haven’t yet closed.
Novo Nordisk expects an FDA decision by year-end on its tablet version of semaglutide for weight loss. The pill form could appeal to patients who prefer tablets over injections, potentially helping the company retake market share from both Eli Lilly and telehealth competitors.
Novo Nordisk stock faces additional uncertainty from a bidding war with Pfizer over obesity biotech firm Metsera. Novo increased its offer to $10 billion, surpassing Pfizer’s bid.
Metsera said Novo’s revised offer was “superior” to Pfizer’s counterbid. However, Pfizer filed a second lawsuit arguing Novo’s bid is anticompetitive.
CEO Doustdar told CNBC the company wouldn’t have pursued Metsera if not confident it could close the deal. He emphasized that while Novo has confidence in its own pipeline, the company needs complementary drugs to serve hundreds of millions of patients with unmet needs.
Analyst sentiment on Novo Nordisk stock remains mixed.
- Jefferies recently cut its rating to underperform, while Berenberg is positive, saying Novo has hit “peak uncertainty.”
- UBS expects struggles to impact fourth-quarter performance and 2026 but remains neutral with a price target of 340 kroner per share.
The failed Alzheimer’s trial represents a missed opportunity to expand semaglutide’s use beyond diabetes and obesity.
But with aggressive pricing, a potential pill launch and a strong existing patient base of one million U.S. obesity patients, Novo Nordisk is fighting to maintain its position in what could be a $150 billion industry by 2035.
Estimate a company’s fair value instantly (Free with TIKR) >>>
How Much Upside Does Novo Nordisk Stock Have From Here?
With TIKR’s new Valuation Model tool, you can estimate a stock’s potential share price in under a minute.
All it takes is three simple inputs:
- Revenue Growth
- Operating Margins
- Exit P/E Multiple
If you’re not sure what to enter, TIKR automatically fills in each input using analysts’ consensus estimates, giving you a quick, reliable starting point.
From there, TIKR calculates the potential share price and total returns under Bull, Base, and Bear scenarios so you can quickly see whether a stock looks undervalued or overvalued.
See a stock’s true value in under 60 seconds (Free with TIKR) >>>
Looking for New Opportunities?
- See what stocks billionaire investors are buying so you can follow the smart money.
- Analyze stocks in as little as 5 minutes with TIKR’s all-in-one, easy-to-use platform.
- The more rocks you overturn… the more opportunities you’ll uncover. Search 100K+ global stocks, global top investor holdings, and more with TIKR.
Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
