In This Story
Sales of Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy during the second quarter of the year failed to meet Wall Street’s expectations, sending the company’s stock tumbling on Wednesday.
The Swedish pharma giant said that sales of its diabetes drug Ozempic in the second quarter reached 28.8 billion Danish kroner ($4.2 billion), missing analysts’ expectations of $4.3 billion in sales, according to a consensus estimate from FactSet.
Sales of the company’s popular weight loss drug Wegovy reached 11.7 million Danish kroner ($1.8 billion), just below Wall Street expectations of $1.9 billion.
Novo Nordisk also reported a weaker-than-expected profit. Its net profit for the quarter came at 20 billion Danish kroner ($2.9 billion), again below expectations of $3 billion.
This led to the company trimming its operating profit outlook for the year to between 20% and 28%, from a previous projection of 22% to 30%.
Novo Nordisk’s stock fell over 8% on Wednesday, following the mixed second quarter earnings report. Shares of rival Eli Lilly also fell about 3%.
The company’s chief financial officer Karsten Knudsen told Reuters the market’s reaction was not surprising as it is very sensitive to news about its blockbuster weight loss drug.
Ozempic and Wegovy belong to a class of drugs known as incretin medications that work by mimicking hormones that regulate blood sugar and suppress appetite. They were originally used to treat type-2 diabetes, but have become highly sought after for their slimming side effects.
Skyrocketing demand for Wegovy and other weight loss drugs have transformed Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk into the most valuable pharmaceutical companies in the world. However, increased demand has also made it difficult for some patients to get their prescriptions filled. Novo Nordisk’s and Eli Lilly’s incretin treatments are both listed on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database.
Novo Nordisk has invested billions to increase its manufacturing capacity and boost its supply of weight loss drugs.
On a call with investors on Wednesday, Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said, “our supply is on track in being able to serve more patients, both short and longer term.”
The company boosted its sales outlook for the year to between 22% to 28%, from 19% to 27%.