For the third time this year, Novo Nordisk increased its full-year revenue and operating profit forecast on Friday. This was due to the company’s strong sales of its diabetic treatment Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy in the US.
On the news, Novo’s stock surged almost 5% to a record high before caving in and closing 2.5% higher at 1422 GMT.
From a previous projection of 27%–33%, the Danish drugmaker said it now expects revenue growth this year between 32% and 38%.
It increased its forecast for earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) growth for the entire year from 31-37% to 40-46%.
Due to the increasing demand for weekly injection Wegovy and its lower-dose counterpart Ozempic, Novo emerged as the most valuable firm in Europe this year.
The revised sales forecast for this year is mostly due to increased expectations for earnings from Ozempic and Wegovy sales in the US.
Analysts from Barclays and Jeffries said separately that they were taken aback by Novo’s revised outlook prior to the company’s third-quarter results, especially considering that the company’s supply constraints are now limiting prescription growth in the United States. Novo said in August that its restrictions on Wegovy supplies into the United States would probably endure until 2024.
The Copenhagen-based company had initially predicted that both revenue and operational profit would expand by 13%–19% this year. It also increased its estimate in April and August.
It stated that sales increased by 38% in the third quarter and 33% in the first nine months of the year. Between January and September, operating profit increased by 37%; in the third quarter, it increased by 47%.