Shares of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk slid 4% on Friday, extending a 2.7% loss on Thursday as analysts pored over the details of the firm's first-quarter results and monitored a potential rival weight loss treatment.
The company reported that sales for its blockbuster injectable weight loss treatment Wegovy, more than doubled to 9.38 billion Danish kroner ($1.4 billion).
Novo Nordisk, which also makes diabetes treatment Ozempic, said the rise in sales had offset a slight reduction in prices.
Analysts expected even higher weight loss drug sales in the quarter, and some noted that Novo Nordisk's 2024 outlook raise for both sales growth and operating profit was due to one-off accounting adjustments.
The boom in demand for weight loss treatments saw Novo Nordisk overtake French luxury group LVMH to become Europe's most valuable company last year.
Persons:
Karsten Knudsen, Karen Andersen
Organizations:
Novo Nordisk, Novo, Morningstar
Locations:
Novo