Novo Nordisk’s shares fell 6% on Tuesday afternoon after its second quarter earnings report showed a slight miss for the Wegovy pill vs. consensus.
Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy is continuing its upward charge with nearly 5 million prescriptions to date since its January launch. But analysts’ eyebrows were raised by a slight miss reported for the obesity pill in the second quarter due to inventory destocking.
Novo previewed second quarter earnings Tuesday afternoon ahead of a conference call with analysts to be held Wednesday morning. The Danish pharma reported a top- and bottom-line beat, with profits of $5.15 billion for the period.
The company closed the day down 6% to $44.26 after the report. BMO Capital Markets attributed the decline to a surprise miss for the Wegovy pill and lower than expected U.S. sales for the injectable version of the product. The Wegovy pill declined due to de-stocking, the company reportedly told BMO.
“A strong print for Novo’s underlying commercial business and associated guidance raise was overshadowed by questions around the modest miss for the Wegovy pill and a softer print for U.S. Injectable Wegovy sales,” BMO wrote Tuesday afternoon.
The pill brought in $496 million, a miss of 2%, while the injectable brought home 2% more than consensus at $3 billion.
Despite the miss for the weight-loss pill, Novo underscored “the momentum it is seeing for the launch,” BMO wrote.
Novo’s injectable Wegovy continues to see market erosion from chief rival Eli Lilly, however. The product’s sales declined 22% year over year, according to BMO.
Both companies could see a boost thanks to the inclusion of GLP-1 products in Medicare Part D coverage. That program was implemented as of July 1.
Novo will speak to analysts tomorrow, with BMO expecting to hear more on executives’ competitive strategy and the rising competition in the obesity space. The firm also wants to learn more about clinical work for up-and-coming pipeline items CagriSema and zenagamtide. CagriSema could receive an FDA decision in the second half.
Lilly, too, will report earnings on Wednesday in a battle of the obesity heavyweights.
