Novo Nordisk Sees Strong Demand for New Weight-Loss Pill
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2 days ago
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Should l Buy LLY?
Source: Newsfilter
- Competitive Pressure: Novo Nordisk's new oral weight-loss pill Wegovy has seen 721,000 prescriptions in the U.S., exceeding expectations, but faces intense competition from Eli Lilly's newly approved Foundayo, which could impact future market share.
- Cautious Revenue Outlook: Despite strong prescription numbers, analysts estimate first-quarter revenue could fall about 12% below the consensus expectation of $1 billion, primarily due to a significant portion of prescriptions being for the low-cost starter dose priced at $149 per month, potentially affecting overall revenue performance.
- Positive Market Reaction: Novo's stock price has risen following Eli Lilly's strong performance, indicating robust demand for weight-loss and diabetes medications; however, investors remain cautious about future price wars and revenue growth.
- Strategic Adjustment Needed: Following leadership changes and market share declines, Novo must provide clearer guidance in its upcoming earnings report to address intensifying competition and pricing pressures, ensuring long-term growth potential.
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Analyst Views on LLY
Wall Street analysts forecast LLY stock price to rise
20 Analyst Rating
18 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 988.870
Low
950.00
Averages
1192
High
1500
Current: 988.870
Low
950.00
Averages
1192
High
1500
About LLY
Eli Lilly and Company is a medicine company, which discovers, develops, manufactures, and market products in a single business segment called human pharmaceutical products. The Company manufacture and distribute its products through facilities in the United States, including Puerto Rico, and in Europe and Asia. The Company’s products are sold in approximately 90 countries. Its Cardiometabolic Health products Basaglar; Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, and others; Humulin, Humulin 70/30, and others; Jardiance; Mounjaro; Trulicity; Zepbound, and others. Its oncology products include Cyramza, Erbitux, Tyvyt, Verzenio, Retevmo, Jaypirca, and others. Its immunology products include Ebglyss, Olumiant, Omvoh, and Taltz. Its neuroscience products include Emgality and Kisunla. Its LillyDirect, a direct-to-patient digital health care platform, provides delivery of select Lilly medicines dispensed by third-party pharmacies to patients.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.

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- Significant Revenue Growth: Eli Lilly's Q1 2026 revenue surged to $19.8 billion, a 56% increase driven by strong demand for metabolic treatments Mounjaro and Zepbound, which generated $8.7 billion and $4.1 billion in global sales respectively, showcasing the company's robust market competitiveness.
- Profitability Improvement: Despite lower realized prices, Lilly's GAAP EPS rose by 170% to $8.26, while non-GAAP EPS reached $8.55, reflecting successful strategies in cost control and product demand management.
- Regulatory Milestone: The FDA approved Foundayo (orforglipron), the only GLP-1 pill without food or water restrictions, expected to broaden patient access to obesity treatments, further enhancing the company's market position.
- Optimistic Outlook: Eli Lilly raised its full-year 2026 financial guidance to a range of $82.0 billion to $85.0 billion, a $2 billion increase from previous estimates, while non-GAAP EPS guidance was also raised to $35.50 to $37.00, demonstrating the company's confidence in future growth.
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- Facility Opening: Eli Lilly opened the Lilly Lebanon Advanced Therapies center in Indiana on Wednesday, focusing on genetic disease treatments, which is expected to significantly enhance its production capabilities in genetic medicine.
- Increased Capital Investment: The company announced an additional investment of $4.5 billion for the new facility, bringing its total investment in Indiana to $21 billion since 2020, reflecting strong confidence in future drug demand.
- API Production Plans: Lilly plans to open the Lilly Lebanon API facility by 2027, which will become the largest active pharmaceutical ingredient production site in U.S. history, further solidifying its leadership in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Positive Market Reaction: Despite LLY stock being down nearly 8% this year, it has risen about 28% over the past 12 months, with retail investors expressing an 'extremely bullish' sentiment, indicating market recognition of its investment strategy.
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- Active Business Development: Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar stated that the company is actively seeking deals with other firms that have complementary assets to fulfill its ambition of helping hundreds of millions of patients, demonstrating its strategic commitment in the competitive obesity drug market.
- Market Competition Pressure: Although Novo Nordisk pioneered the GLP-1 weight loss drug market, rival Eli Lilly has surpassed it in market share for weekly GLP-1 injections, highlighting the challenges the company faces in maintaining its leadership position.
- Optimistic Pipeline Outlook: Doustdar expressed optimism about upcoming treatments, particularly mentioning CagriSema and zenagamtide, which are expected to receive approval by the end of the year, indicating Novo Nordisk's strong R&D capabilities within the industry.
- Increased Profit Guidance: Following better-than-expected performance of the Wegovy pill, Novo Nordisk raised its full-year profit guidance, reflecting the company's confidence in future performance, which may attract more investor interest.
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- Market Leadership Challenges: CEO Mike Doustdar of Novo Nordisk acknowledges that despite pioneering the GLP-1 weight loss drug market, analysts have raised concerns about the competitiveness of its pipeline, especially as rival Eli Lilly has surpassed its market share.
- Acquisition Intentions Clear: Doustdar emphasizes that Novo Nordisk is actively seeking acquisition opportunities that complement its existing assets to secure its leadership position in the global obesity drug market, with expectations of more deals to come in the near future.
- Pipeline Outlook Optimistic: He highlights that the CagriSema drug candidate is expected to gain approval by the end of the year, while the accelerated development of the zenagamtide drug also shows promising prospects, reflecting the company's confidence in its new drug development efforts.
- Profit Guidance Raised: Following better-than-expected performance of the Wegovy pill in Q1, Novo Nordisk has raised its full-year profit guidance, indicating a positive outlook for future performance and further solidifying its competitive stance in the market.
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