Oral Wegovy prescriptions top 2 million in Q1, sales nearly double estimates at $354M. Novo Nordisk raises guidance despite pricing headwinds, with stock up 2.3%.

The oral version of Wegovy has delivered a debut that even the most bullish analysts failed to anticipate, prompting Novo Nordisk to raise its full-year guidance and sending shares sharply higher in Copenhagen. Since hitting US pharmacies on January 5, the pill has racked up more than two million prescriptions, with weekly volumes now exceeding 200,000. First-quarter sales of the oral formulation came in at $354 million, nearly double the $182 million consensus estimate.

Chief executive Mike Doustdar called it the strongest GLP-1 launch in US history, and the momentum has continued even after Eli Lilly rolled out its competing oral drug Foundayo in April. Doustdar dismissed concerns that the pill would cannibalise sales of the injectable version, describing the relationship as “synergistic” rather than competitive.

The headline numbers for the quarter look spectacular at first glance. Reported revenue surged 32 percent to 96.8 billion Danish kroner, while operating profit jumped 65 percent. But those figures are flattered by a one-off accounting adjustment linked to the release of a multi-billion-krone provision tied to a US pricing programme. Stripping out that effect, underlying revenue fell 4 percent to 70.1 billion kroner and operating profit slipped 6 percent to 32.9 billion kroner, as lower realised prices ate into volume gains.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Novo Nordisk?

The divergence between the US and international operations is stark. On an adjusted basis, North American revenue contracted 11 percent, while the rest of the world posted 6 percent growth. Despite the pricing headwinds, management now expects a smaller decline for the full year. The guided range for underlying revenue growth has been tightened to a contraction of between 4 and 12 percent, compared with the previous band of minus 5 to minus 13 percent. The outlook for adjusted operating profit has been revised in line with that narrower range.

Pipeline progress is providing additional support. The quarter brought six regulatory approvals, including the high-dose Wegovy injection and Awiqli, a once-weekly basal insulin. International rollouts of the Wegovy pill are slated for the second half of 2026.

The stock jumped as much as 8 percent in Copenhagen before closing roughly 2.3 percent higher. At €39.13 on a euro-denominated basis, the shares have recovered about 28 percent from their March trough but remain well below the year’s peak. Novo Nordisk now commands 65 percent of all new prescriptions for weight-loss drugs in the US market. Whether that lead over Lilly holds will become clearer when Foundayo’s first prescription data emerge in the second quarter.

The next catalyst is already on the calendar. Novo Nordisk will present fresh clinical data at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul from May 12 to 15, where it plans to offer further evidence of the oral GLP-1 therapy’s efficacy.

Ad

Novo Nordisk Stock: New Analysis – 6 May

Fresh Novo Nordisk information released. What’s the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.

Read our updated Novo Nordisk analysis…