Shares of Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) traded on Nasdaq Copenhagen plunged over 18% on Wednesday afternoon. This followed the company’s weak foreacast for 2026 and U.S.-based rival Eli Lilly’s (LLY) latest earnings beat.
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The drop is estimated to have wiped out about $50 billion from the company’s market capitalization, which stood around $255 billion at the end of trading on Tuesday. Novo Nordisk’s shares in the U.S. are also down over 5% to $47.59 in pre-market trading, extending a nearly 15% loss from the prior day and dragging the stock closer to its 52-week low of $43.08.
Novo Nordisk Feels Heat from U.S. Drug Pricing Crackdown
Novo Nordisk released its fourth-quarter earnings results on Wednesday, reporting Wall Street-beating earnings per share of $1.02 on revenue of $12.53 billion. However, investors focused on the pharmaceutical company’s warning on Tuesday that it expects its revenue to drop between 5% and 13% this year — the anticipated decline exceeded Wall Street expectations.
It would be the company’s first year of declining sales since 2017, when a bruising price war in the U.S. insulin market hit its performance. Novo Nordisk blamed the bearish outlook on market competition and drug-pricing pressures from the U.S. government.
The dampened outlook comes even as Novo Nordisk expanded sales by 10% year-over-year in 2025, with its operating profit growing 6%.
Eli Lilly Leans on Mounjaro to Drive Revenue
Meanwhile, Eli Lilly in the final quarter of 2025 grew its revenue by 43% year-over-year to $19.24 billion, with a key contribution from expanded global sales of Mounjaro, its once-weekly weight-loss injection that is a rival to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.
Observers had anticipated that Novo Nordisk’s lead as the first to introduce the oral version of its weight-loss injection could help it boost sales and cover lost ground from Eli Lilly. However, it appears bigger challenges lie ahead.
Is NVO a Good Stock to Buy?
On Wall Street, Novo Nordisk’s shares remain a Moderate Buy based on analyst consensus rating. This breaks down to four Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned by eight analysts over the past three months.
However, the average NVO price target of $58.83 implies about 24% downside risk from current trading levels.
