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Novo Nordisk Injects Growth, Surpasses Tesla’s Market Cap on Anti-Obesity Drug Boom

Published March 11, 2024 2:44 PM
Giuseppe Ciccomascolo
Published March 11, 2024 2:44 PM

Key Takeaways

  • Novo Nordisk’s market capitalization surpassed Tesla’s and now eyes Eli Lilly.
  • Its new anti-obesity drug drove the rise in value for Novo Nordisk.
  • What are the largest cap companies in the World?

Anti-obesity drugs have overtaken  electric cars on the stock market. After the American Eli Lilly, the Danish pharma Novo Nordisk has also surpassed Tesla‘s capitalization. Shares of Novo, listed in Copenhagen and on Wall Street, accelerated after the company published the results of a study for a new anti-obesity drug.

The medicine would be even more effective than Ozempic and Wegovy, the two treatments that made the pharmaceutical company rich. Novo Nordisk’s growth may soon bring the pharmaceutical giant to surpass other companies.

The Rise Of Novo Nordisk

In the past year alone, the Danish pharmaceutical stock has surged more than 70%. However, the pivotal moment came in June 2021 when the company introduced the groundbreaking drug Wegovy in the United States. This single move catapulted the stock value to triple its previous worth. By autumn, Novo Nordisk had became Europe’s most capitalized company, surpassing even the French luxury powerhouse LVMH.

On March 7, a significant milestone was achieved as Novo Nordisk outpaced Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant Tesla.

Despite Tesla experiencing a downturn in the market, with a decrease of approximately 30% since the start of 2024, its market capitalization lingered around $566 billion. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk soared past the $600 billion mark. It secured its position as the twelfth most valuable company by market capitalization. Tesla slipped to fourteenth place, trailing behind Visa with a market capitalization of $568 billion.

In the competitive realm of anti-obesity medications, Novo Nordisk faces its sole rival, Eli Lilly. The latter currently holds the tenth position in market capitalization, valued at an impressive $745 billion. This rivalry underscores the significance of Novo Nordisk’s achievement and solidifies its standing as a formidable player in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly within the realm of GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs.

Boost Arrived From New Anti-obesity Drug

Novo Nordisk’s recent surge in stock value finds its backbone in the preliminary phase one results of amycretin , an experimental drug targeting the amylin hormone to curb hunger. These findings showcased an impressive 13.1% weight loss after 12 weeks, outperforming the 6% seen with Wegovy.

Analysts from Berenberg estimate that nearly half of Novo Nordisk’s robust market valuation hinges on its production pipeline. Amycretin looks likely to lead this charge.

Expanding beyond obesity treatment, Novo Nordisk is venturing into cardiovascular therapies, a move underscored by research suggesting the potential cardiovascular benefits of Wegovy.

Wolfgang Lickl, portfolio manager at KB-Vermögensverwaltung, emphasized  the necessity for diversification in a company heavily reliant on a single therapeutic domain. This expansion marks a proactive step towards building a more resilient foundation for Novo Nordisk’s future growth.

Who Has The Highest Market Cap?

The recent ascent of Novo Nordisk has propelled the drug company into the upper echelons of global market capitalization , surpassing industry giants like Tesla and Visa within a mere week. Currently, Novo Nordisk stands shoulder to shoulder with Eli Lilly  and TSMC, with respective market caps of $745.66 million and $774.26 million.

Moving up the ranks, we encounter Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway at $864.38 million, followed by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, boasting a market cap of $1,308 million.

15 largest market cap
First 15 companies for market capitalization in the World l Source: Milano Finanza

Further ahead lie Alphabet and Amazon, commanding market capitalizations of $1,675 million and $1,837 million, respectively. Notably, Saudi Aramco occupies a significant position with a market cap of $2,049 million.

However, it’s the triumvirate of Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft that reign supreme atop the global market capitalization leaderboard. Nvidia leads with $2,295 million, followed closely by Apple at $2,609 million. Finally, Microsoft claims the throne with an impressive $3,029 million in market capitalization.

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