Deutsche Bank downgraded Novo Nordisk from Hold to Sell following the Danish drugmaker’s mixed second-quarter earnings and revised full-year guidance.
The bank reduced its price target by 9% to 265 Danish crowns from 290 crowns, citing high-single-digit mid-term revenue reductions. Novo Nordisk’s shares declined more than 3% in Copenhagen trading after the downgrade.
The earnings release, issued earlier this month, included a surprise upward revision to full-year profit and sales guidance. Novo Nordisk now projects both metrics to range between zero and minus 6% at constant exchange rates versus 2025, an improvement from the prior range of minus 12% to minus 4%.
Sales of the Wegovy pill totaled 3.22 billion Danish crowns in the quarter, slightly below the 3.3 billion crowns anticipated by analysts. Investor concerns were further heightened by a trial setback for the next-generation obesity drug CagriSema.
Emmanuel Papadakis, Deutsche Bank analyst, noted that uncertainty remains elevated due to factors including the removal of ziltivekimab from the pipeline, a limited Medicare prescription increase, and ongoing concerns about growth prospects beyond 2027.
This marks Novo Nordisk’s second ratings cut from Deutsche Bank in 2024, following a downgrade to Hold in February after an R4 trial data miss. Novo Nordisk is scheduled to host a Capital Markets Day on September 21.
