Ozempic Maker Beats Bernard Arnault's LVMH As Europe's Most Valuable Firm With Stunning $423B Market Cap

Zinger Key Points
  • LVMH's market capitalization rose to $423.64 billion by the close of trading on Friday.
  • The Danish biopharma recently reported above-consensus results for the second quarter and raised its guidance for the full year.

Danish biopharma Novo Nordisk A/S NVO is reaping windfalls from its weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which continue to fly off the shelves.

What Happened: In a significant move, Novo Nordisk’s shares on the Copenhagen stock exchange closed Friday’s session at 1,301.20 Danish Krone, marking a 2.14% gain for the session. 

This achievement propelled the company to a market capitalization of 2.912 trillion Danish Krone ($423.64 billion), making it the most valuable European company. 

Novo Nordisk has now surpassed luxury products company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA LVMUY LVMHF, led by Bernard Arnault — the world’s second-richest person after Tesla’s Elon Musk — with a net worth of approximately $183 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

See Also: Best Biotech Stocks

Gigantic Market Cap: Notably, Novo Nordisk’s market capitalization exceeds Denmark’s GDP, which stood at $395.4 billion in 2022, underscoring the biopharma company’s prominence in the country. 

Novo Nordisk holds the largest weighting in the OMX Copenhagen 25 Index, the Danish stock exchange’s benchmark index, with a 17.09% weighting.

Why It Matters: The biopharma company is capitalizing on the booming demand for weight-loss drugs, with demand far outpacing supply. 

Its first-half results, released in early August, reflected this trend with a 29% year-over-year increase in net sales and a 43% surge in net profit. The second quarter also witnessed robust performance, with net sales and net profit climbing by 32% and 46%, respectively.

Notably, sales of the diabetes drug Ozempic surged by 58% in the first half, while Wegovy sales experienced a remarkable 367% jump. Wegovy, a 2.4 mg once-weekly injection, received FDA approval in June 2021 for obesity treatment, while Ozempic has been used off-label for weight loss. Bolstered by these strong results, Novo Nordisk raised its full-year guidance.

Furthermore, Novo Nordisk’s shares received a boost prior to the earnings report due to positive trial results for semaglutide 2.4 mg, indicating its potential as a preventive option for major cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes.

Price Action: On the NYSE, Novo Nordisk’s shares closed Friday’s session at $189.31, marking a 1.99% increase, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Read Next: Novo Nordisk’s Famed Drug Ozempic Could Be Contender For Medicare Negotiations

Photo via Shutterstock

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: BiotechEquitiesNewsTop StoriesBernard ArnautElon MuskEurasiaLVMHOzempicwegovyweight-loss drugs
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!