Novo Nordisk stock tumbled Wednesday after the Danish drugmaker reported a rare sales miss for its two biggest moneymakers, Ozempic and Wegovy.
Both use the chemical backbone semaglutide to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, respectively. Ozempic sales surged 30% to $4.26 billion. But that lagged analysts' call for $4.38 billion, according to FactSet. Wegovy sales rocketed 69% to $1.88 billion, but widely trailed expectations for $1.96 billion.
The company says it continues to expect supply constraints for the two drugs. Notably, the Food and Drug Administration lists semaglutide and tirzepatide shots as being in shortage. The latter is sold by Eli Lilly as diabetes and obesity treatments Mounjaro and Zepbound, respectively.
Novo Nordisk stock tumbled 8.4%, closing at 119.23. Lilly shares also fell 2.7% to 772.14.
Novo Nordisk Stock: Hiked 2024 Outlook
Across all products, Novo's sales surged 24% to roughly $9.98 billion, based on current exchange rates. That narrowly missed forecasts for $9.99 billion. Adjusted earnings came in at about 66 cents a share, lagging the Street's call for 71 cents. Earnings inched ahead about 3.1% year over year.
Notably, despite the second-quarter miss, Novo hiked its outlook for the year. The company now calls for sales to grow 22% to 28% in constant currency. That's up from its previous forecast for 19% to 27% growth, excluding the impact of exchange rates.
Novo expects the growing sales from its diabetes and weight-loss drugs, but calls for "continued pricing pressure."
Novo Nordisk stock fell to its 200-day line following the earnings announcement. Shares have trended lower since mid-June, undercutting their 50-day moving average on July 17, MarketSurge shows.
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