Novo Nordisk Slides as Weight-Loss Drug War Escalates

Novo Nordisk ( (NVO) ) has fallen by -7.11%. Read on to learn why.

Novo Nordisk shares slipped 7.11% over the past week as investors weighed the costs and competitive risks behind the company’s aggressive push in the booming weight‑loss drug market. New data show that Novo Nordisk is spending almost $500 million on U.S. advertising for Wegovy and Ozempic in the first nine months of 2025—more than double Eli Lilly’s outlay—raising questions about margin pressure and how much marketing firepower is needed to defend market share. At the same time, the average Wall Street price target of $57 now implies modest downside from current levels, which may have encouraged some profit‑taking after the stock’s strong multi‑year run.

The company is racing head‑to‑head with Eli Lilly for dominance in GLP‑1 medicines, with both firms rolling out new weight‑loss pills for a U.S. market that uniquely allows direct‑to‑consumer drug advertising. Novo Nordisk’s pill version of Wegovy has just launched in America and is off to a strong start, but faces a looming challenge from Lilly’s Orforglipron, expected this summer. As Lilly leans into a softer, stigma‑focused marketing campaign and retains a stronger consensus “Strong Buy” rating, investors appear increasingly sensitive to how Novo’s higher ad spending will translate into sustainable prescription growth and pricing power.

Beyond the marketing battle, Novo Nordisk updated investors on a large real‑world study tracking semaglutide’s impact on cardiovascular and obesity‑related outcomes in everyday practice. The study, which covers U.S. patients from 2016 to 2024 and is now completed, is designed to confirm whether the drug’s impressive trial results hold up in routine care—an important factor for long‑term insurance coverage and physician adoption. While the update is fundamentally positive and could reinforce Novo Nordisk’s position in obesity and cardiometabolic care, the market’s short‑term focus on high spending, intense competition, and a now‑cautious analyst valuation framework helped drive NVO’s 7.11% pullback this week.