Novo Nordisk
NVO,
on Friday boosted its full-year 2023 profit and sales outlook, reflecting heightened expectations for Ozempic and Wegovy sales.
The Danish pharmaceutical giant now projects full-year sales growth of 32% to 38%, up from 27% to 33% previously, and operating profit growth of 40% to 46%, up from 31% to 37% previously.
The brighter outlook factors in higher expected U.S. Ozempic sales volumes as well as gross-to-net sales adjustments for both Ozempic and Wegovy in the U.S., the company said.
The company also previewed some financial metrics for the third quarter of 2023, saying sales growth at constant exchange rates was 38% for the quarter and operating profit growth was 47%. The company will report full financial results for the first nine months of 2023 on Nov. 2.
In the first nine months of 2023, sales growth at constant exchange rates was 33%, while operating profit growth clocked in at 37%, Novo Nordisk said Friday.
Friday’s announcement came as a “surprise” given U.S. prescription trends, Jefferies analysts wrote in a note. The company’s reference to gross-to-net sales adjustments, the analysts wrote, suggests that higher discounts seen in the second quarter were not representative of second-half expectations. The wide target ranges the company provided for the full-year results may also suggest that Novo Nordisk now expects greater availability of supply of the popular weight-loss drugs by year end, the analysts wrote.
The analysts have an underperform rating on Novo stock, saying the current valuation already reflects the company beating profit expectations and delivering impressive growth.
Novo Nordisk’s American depositary receipts gained 1.7% Friday morning and are up 50.5% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX,
is up 13.5%.
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