Shares in Novo Nordisk rose Monday after its parent, Novo Holdings, said it has agreed to buy contract drug manufacturer Catalent for $11.5 billion in cash. NVO stock has surged the past year on sales of Ozempic, a diabetes medicine, and weight-loss drug Wegovy.
Novo Holdings will buy Catalent for $63.50 a share in cash, a premium of 16.5% to Catalent's closing price on Friday.
In connection with the Catalent deal, Novo Nordisk has agreed to buy three of Catalent's manufacturing sites from Novo Holdings for $11 billion. The move will boost its production capacity.
The three sites are located in Italy, Belgium and the U.S. Further, Novo Holdings' deal to buy Catalent is expected to close by the end of 2024.
On the stock market today, NVO stock rose 3.8% to 118 in afternoon trading. The stock has gained 66% over the past 52 weeks.
NVO Stock: Q4 Ozempic, Wegovy Sales
NVO stock holds a Relative Strength Rating of 92 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock checkup.
Ozempic and Wegovy are different formulations of the same drug, semaglutide. While Wegovy sales almost quadrupled during the December quarter, hitting $1.4 billion, they missed projections for $1.43 billion.
Ozempic sales rocketed almost 79% year over year to about $4.37 billion, smashing views for $3.77 billion, according to FactSet.
Meanwhile, Q4 sales of insulins — which treat type 1 diabetes and severe type 2 diabetes — fell short at $1.74 billion. Novo was among a trio of drugmakers last year that slashed insulin prices. Eli Lilly and Sanofi also did the same.
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