German tech giant SAP SE rose to the throne of Europe's biggest public company, surpassing the market capitalisation of the Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk.
The multinational software company, based in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, saw its share price up by more than 1% in the morning trade in Frankfurt, fuelling the already 40% gain over the past year and putting its market capitalisation to around €312 billion.
"The current developments in the stock market underscore the critical role of technology companies in keeping Europe competitive on the global stage," an SAP spokesperson told Euronews Business. "SAP’s continued investment in cloud, AI, and innovation reflects our commitment to driving digital transformation and long-term growth for businesses worldwide."
Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical company's shares in Copenhagen lost more than 2%, taking the company’s market value a little above 2.3 trillion Danish krone (€309bn). The company's shares lost almost half of their value since last summer despite reporting a 25% increase in their 2024 revenue.
Novo Nordisk's fame, mainly due to its weight-loss drug Wegovy, boosted the company's shares up until last summer, when they were worth around 1,000 Danish krone (€134), around double the current 516 Danish krone price.
But the latest news about the study results for the firm's next-generation weight loss drug CagriSema, appeared to be disappointing as it failed to show superior effects compared to existing drugs.
The uncertainty dragged down the share price, which has already lost about 16% this year.
Meanwhile, the German tech company gained investors' confidence by implementing a strategy to focus on subscription-based cloud services, with additional AI features, promising large revenue growth.
JPMorgan recently said that an "attractive buying opportunity has emerged" concerning the SAP shares, as the investment bank's analysts reiterated an "Overweight" rating on the company's shares with a €300 price target.
