Novo Nordisk Stock Slips After BofA, Morgan Stanley Slash Price Targets – But Retail Goes Contrarian

NYSE-listed shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) traded over 1% lower on Friday afternoon after Bank of America lowered its price target on the stock to DKK910 (approximately $132) from DKK1075, while keeping a ‘Buy’ rating

Bank of America analysts said Novo Nordisk, known for its obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, may miss first-quarter estimates. According to TheFly, they expect the company to lower its full-year sales guidance from 16%-24% at constant exchange rates to 14%-22%.

"1Q seems a possible miss on sluggish Ozempic/Wegovy trends, worse currency (impact) and possibly higher (selling, general and administrative expenses) needed for demand creation and to convince physicians that supply is back," BofA said, as reported by Reuters.

According to the report, the analysts expect the company’s first-quarter sales to be 1% to 2% lower than the current market consensus.

On Thursday, Morgan Stanley also lowered its price target on Novo Nordisk to DKK600 from DKK700 while keeping an ‘Equal weight’ rating on the shares.

Separately, Texas-based Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LXRX) said on Friday that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Novo Nordisk, under which Novo will obtain an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize LX9851.

LX9851 is an oral non-incretin development candidate for obesity and associated metabolic disorders.

Lexicon is eligible to receive up to $1 billion in upfront and potential development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments under the deal.

On Stocktwits, retail investor sentiment about Novo Nordisk jumped into the ‘extremely bullish’ territory (91/100), while message volume rose from ‘high’ to ‘extremely high’ levels over the past 24 hours.

NYSE-listed shares of Novo Nordisk have lost over 20% this year and over 45% in the last 12 months.

Also See: Kyndryl Stock Continues Slide Despite Wall Street’s Backing After Short-Seller Report – Retail Remains Bullish

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(Exchange Rate: 1 DKK= 0.15 USD)

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