Shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) surged Friday, January 24th, after the Danish company reported positive results from the latest trial of weight-loss drugs.
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NVO stock surged 13% in pre-market trade, tracking the rally in the Copenhagen-listed security, after it reported that obese and overweight people treated with its once-weekly amycretin treatment lost up to 22% of their body weight after 36 weeks, which puts it in the same ballpark as the weight loss from rival Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Mounjaro treatment.
Amycretin is in in the same GLP-1 class of drugs as Novo’s flagship obesity treatment Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.
“We are very encouraged by the subcutaneous phase 1b/2a results for amycretin in people living with overweight or obesity,” said Martin Lange, Executive Vice President for Development at Novo Nordisk.
The results seen in the trial support the weight lowering potential of the novel treatment, he added.
NVO Plans Further Trials
The company had already conducted an early stage trial of a pill version of amycretin, which showed average weight loss of around 13% of body weight after 12 weeks.
The latest trial, which involved an injectable version, was carried out on 125 overweight or obese patients, with the most common side effects being gastrointestinal, with the vast majority of seen as “mild to moderate in severity.”
Novo said it will now conduct further clinical trials of amycretin, with the drug’s commercialization still seen as years away.
Shares of NVO have had a volatile ride lately following disappointing results from another weight loss treatment CagriSema. Meanwhile shares were hit recently as investors worried that Novo’s blockbuster Wegovy and Ozempic drugs could face price cuts in the U.S.
Is NVO a Good Stock to Buy?
Overall, Wall Street has a Moderate Buy rating on NVO stock. The average NVO price target of $110.08 implies 35% of upside potential from the current level after a 21% decline in the last year.
