Novo Nordisk Fires Back on Multiple Fronts as Eli Lilly Eats Into Market Share
Published on 07/08/2026 at 03:45 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Novo Nordisk is racing to defend its weight-loss empire on three continents simultaneously, rolling out the oral version of Wegovy in the UK, winning a new liver-disease approval, and reorganising its Korean operations — all while Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide franchise keeps grabbing market share on both sides of the Atlantic. The Danish pharma giant closed Tuesday at €43.42, extending a 30-day rally of 21.66%, though the stock remains 27.10% lower on the year and still 29% below the peak it set last July.
The competitive pressure is most acute in Korea, where Novo’s local subsidiary this month merged its obesity and diabetes divisions. Industry insiders interpret the restructuring as a defensive response to Eli Lilly, which entered the market late but is making up ground fast. In the first quarter, Lilly’s Mounjaro generated roughly 323.2 billion won in Korean sales — triple the 104 billion won that Wegovy managed. Novo tried to stem the tide by slashing Wegovy’s wholesale price by around 40%, but the market-share losses continued. The pattern repeats in the United States, where Lilly’s Zepbound now claims nearly 60% of the weekly prescription market and has pulled ahead of Wegovy by more than 100,000 scripts per week.
The company is not relying solely on price cuts and internal reorganisation. Last year it replaced longtime CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen with Mike Doustdar and cut roughly 9,000 jobs — about 11% of the workforce. Meanwhile, the oral Wegovy pill has become a key growth engine. In Britain, the tablet is now available to private patients, with pharmacies charging around £69 for a starter pack and roughly £189 for a month’s supply at the highest dose. Clinical data show patients lost up to 17% of their body weight over about a year on the pill. The UK health regulator simultaneously cleared semaglutide for use against advanced liver fibrosis, opening another therapeutic avenue. In the US, the pill has already generated over 3 million prescriptions in its first five months, mostly from patients new to GLP-1 therapies. Novo is also thinking beyond pills: a phase 1 study of an implant developed with Vivani Medical is slated to start in mid-2026, aiming to free patients from daily dosing entirely.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Novo Nordisk?
Analysts have taken note of the expanding pipeline. HSBC lifted its price target on Novo Nordisk from 280 to 300 Danish kroner, reiterating a “Hold” rating. Danske Bank went further, setting a target of 365 kroner with a “Buy” recommendation. Across Wall Street, the average target stands at $46.72, with estimates ranging from $39.56 to $64.19.
The share buyback programme provides additional support. Since 4 February 2026, Novo has repurchased roughly 23 million B-shares at an average price of 270.32 Danish kroner, spending about 6.2 billion kroner. The company now holds nearly 40.2 million B-shares — equivalent to 0.9% of its share capital — under a programme that can run for up to 12 months and has a total envelope of 15 billion kroner.
Technically, the rally is showing signs of strain. The relative strength index stands at 69.6, flirting with the overbought threshold. The stock currently trades 43.55% above its 52-week low of €30.25 from March, but remains well short of its high from last July. For now, Novo’s stock is being pulled in two directions: a generous buyback and promising pill uptake versus a rival that is eating away at its lead in two of the world’s most important markets.
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