Make better investment decisions with Simply Wall St’s easy, visual tools that give you a competitive edge.
If you are wondering whether Novo Nordisk’s current share price reflects its true worth, the recent performance offers a useful starting point for a closer look at valuation.
The stock last closed at US$36.98, with returns of 1.6% over 7 days, 0.9% over 30 days, and larger declines of 29.4% year to date and 43.1% over 1 year.
These moves sit against a backdrop where Novo Nordisk continues to attract attention as a large pharmaceuticals and biotech name on the NYSE, with ongoing interest in its product portfolio and long term healthcare trends. That context can help explain why some investors are reassessing both the potential and the risks around the current share price.
On Simply Wall St’s valuation checks, Novo Nordisk scores 5 out of 6. The next sections will walk through what different valuation approaches suggest about the stock, and then conclude with a way to go beyond the numbers to understand the valuation story in full.
Find out why Novo Nordisk’s -43.1% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers.
A Discounted Cash Flow, or DCF, model estimates what a company could be worth by projecting its future cash flows and discounting them back to today’s value. It effectively asks what those future Danish krone are worth in today’s terms.
For Novo Nordisk, the model used is a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity approach, based on last twelve month free cash flow of DKK 52.10b. Analyst estimates and subsequent extrapolations by Simply Wall St produce ten year projections, including a DKK 111.09b free cash flow figure for 2030. Each of these future DKK cash flows is discounted back to reflect time and risk.
Adding those discounted cash flows together gives an estimated intrinsic value of US$106.21 per share. Compared with the recent share price of US$36.98, the DCF outcome implies the stock trades at a 65.2% discount to this intrinsic estimate, which indicates a valuation that is materially below the model’s fair value output.
Result: UNDERVALUED
Our Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis suggests Novo Nordisk is undervalued by 65.2%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 62 more high quality undervalued stocks.
NVO Discounted Cash Flow as at Apr 2026
For a profitable company like Novo Nordisk, the P/E ratio is a useful way to think about what you are paying for each unit of current earnings. Investors often look at P/E in the context of growth expectations and risk, since higher expected earnings growth or lower perceived risk can justify a higher, or “richer”, P/E than average.
Story Continues
Novo Nordisk currently trades on a P/E of 10.27x. That sits below both the Pharmaceuticals industry average P/E of 16.37x and the peer average of 18.26x. On simple comparisons, the stock appears to trade on a lower earnings multiple than many similar companies in its sector.
Simply Wall St’s Fair Ratio for Novo Nordisk is 25.80x. This is its proprietary view of what a “normal” P/E could look like after considering factors such as the company’s earnings growth profile, industry, profit margins, market capitalization and risk characteristics. This Fair Ratio can give a fuller picture than a basic peer or industry comparison because it adjusts for those company specific features. Setting the Fair Ratio of 25.80x against the current P/E of 10.27x suggests the shares trade below this model based reference point.
Result: UNDERVALUED
NYSE:NVO P/E Ratio as at Apr 2026
P/E ratios tell one story, but what if the real opportunity lies elsewhere? Start investing in legacies, not executives. Discover our 20 top founder-led companies.
Earlier it was mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation. Narratives are a simple tool that lets you connect your view of Novo Nordisk’s story to specific forecasts for revenue, earnings and margins, translate that into your own fair value, then compare it with the current price. All of this happens within the Narratives feature on Simply Wall St’s Community page, where different users might, for example, share a higher fair value such as US$120.72 per ADR based on a detailed GLP 1 franchise view, or a lower fair value such as US$65.50 based on a more cautious outlook. Each Narrative is automatically updated as fresh news or earnings are added so you can more easily decide whether the gap between price and fair value still fits your thesis.
Do you think there’s more to the story for Novo Nordisk? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!
NYSE:NVO 1-Year Stock Price Chart
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Companies discussed in this article include NVO.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com