Europe’s biggest company, the Danish weight loss drug kingpin Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO)’s upcoming results will be squarely focused on the uptake of the flagship Wegovy drug in the US.
Analysts have warned that the company risks undershooting forecasts due to Wegovy’s slow uptake.
Jefferies analysts reckon sales over the first quarter will likely sit at 59.1 billion Danish Krone (£4.29 billion), 9% lower than consensus estimates of 64.7 billion Danish Krone (£4.69 billion), so the heat is on Novo to prove them wrong.
The investment bank’s lower forecast follows a wider slowdown in the market for GPL-1-based diabetes drugs in the US, coupled with the absence of an uptick in prescription data for Novo’s Wegovy since supply was increased in February.
Pre-tax earnings could well miss consensus estimates too, said Jefferies, with the bank guiding for 24.9 billion Danish Krone, against wider expectations of 29.5 billion Danish Krone.
Not that the market is listening, Novo’s shares are up 24% year to date and over 50% year on year.
They could move higher if the Danish pharma giant trumps expectations on Thursday, 2 May.