(News Bulletin 247) – The Danish laboratory published its annual results, which allowed it to briefly go up on the stock market and thus cross the mark of 500 billion dollars in market capitalization. It is the second European company to achieve such a valuation on the stock market.

After depriving LVMH of its title of largest European capitalization in September, the pharmaceutical laboratory Novo Nordiks is attacking its records.

The Danish group opened very sharply higher on Wednesday, and thus very briefly crossed the $500 billion mark in market capitalization, Bloomberg reported. Only LVMH, in April 2023, had previously erased this mark in Europe.

However, the rise in Novo Nordisk’s shares faded quite quickly, with the stock gaining only 0.7% on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange around 2:10 p.m.

The market dissects the annual results of the laboratory, whose activity and stock price have been driven in recent quarters by the rise of anti-diabetic and anti-obesity drugs, particularly in the United States.

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Impressive market shares

Over the entire 2023 financial year, Novo Nordisk’s sales jumped 31% and 36% excluding currency effects to 232.3 billion crowns (or 31.2 billion euros).

Sales of its two flagship drugs are dizzying. The injectable diabetic treatment Ozempic saw its sales jump 66% last year to 95.72 billion Danish crowns. Those of the anti-obesity treatment Wegovy increased by 407% to 31.34 billion crowns.

Novo Nordisk estimates that it currently holds 34% of the overall market for anti-obesity treatments (compared to 32% in 2022) and above all 55% of that of drugs analogous to GLP-1, a physiological hormone which has several effects on the regulation of glucose and appetite and allows you to obtain a feeling of satiety.

Regarding its other lines of the account, its operating profit increased by 37% to 102.57 billion crowns for a corresponding margin of 44.2%, while its profit stood at 83.62 billion crowns, marking a jump of 51%. Earnings per share reached 18.62 crowns.

For 2024, the Danish group has indicated that it expects sales to increase by 18% to 26% excluding currency effects, while its operating profit is expected to increase by 21% to 29%.

Bank of America points out that both earnings per share and sales exceeded expectations by 1% while, by drug, sales of Ozempic were 4% above consensus while those of Wegovy missed it by 2 %.

The American establishment also considers the objectives communicated by Novo Nordisk “robust”, even if they turn out to be very slightly below expectations, in the middle of the range. “It should be remembered that Novo Nordisk is usually cautious at the start of the year,” warns the bank.

The establishment confirmed its purchase advice, judging that the improvement in results enabled by Ozempic and Wegovy should continue.