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Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), the Danish drugmaker of GLP-1 weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, slipped 2% through 10:30 a.m. ET Friday after suffering a one-two punch from Reuters and a bank analyst.
On Thursday, Reuters reported weak U.S. prescription data is contributing to investor concerns that Novo Nordisk is no longer a growth stock. Taking a quick cue from the report, Singapore's DBS Bank has flipped 180 degrees, cutting its rating on Novo Nordisk stock from "buy" all the way to "sell."
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Everybody hates Novo Nordisk
Let's start with the Reuters report. Ever "since launching its wildly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy in 2021," says Reuters, Novo has trained investors to expect the company's earnings reports to feature regular updates of new and improved sales guidance. In February, however, the company said sales will grow only 16% to 24% this year, which is "a much slower pace than in the past few years."
Reuters cites IQVIA data to show that "U.S. Wegovy prescriptions have plateaued since mid-February," versus Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) competing Zepbound GLP-1 drug, which is taking market share from Novo. Adding to Novo's misery, clinical trial data on the company's new CagriSema drug, which was supposed to be even better than Wegovy and Ozempic, isn't measuring up.
Result: Investors are now bracing for bad news when Novo Nordisk reports its Q1 earnings on May 7.
Is Novo Nordisk stock a sell?
Digesting all this news, DBS Bank concludes Novo Nordisk's run is done and that it's time to sell the stock. This morning, The Fly reports that DBS has downgraded Novo stock all the way from buy to sell and set a price target of 330 Danish krone -- about $50.28 -- on the stock. That's about 18% below where Novo stock trades today.
I disagree.
Priced at 18.2 times earnings today, Novo looks to me more than fairly priced for a 16%-to-24% growth rate. In fact, it might even be cheap. The best time to buy Novo Nordisk might actually be right now, when everybody else seems to hate it.
Should you invest $1,000 in Novo Nordisk right now?
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