Acquisition of Novo Nordisk strengthens position against Eli Lilly.
Novo Nordisk announced the acquisition of Akero Therapeutics for 5.2 billion US dollars on Thursday (October 9).
The Danish healthcare group is thus strengthening its commitment in the field of liver diseases and positioning itself even better in competition with Eli Lilly in the field of obesity-related diseases.
Risks exist as Akero's drug efruxifermin is still in the late clinical trial phase.
The share is still very attractively valued in historical terms.
Following a profit warning, a change in management and the announcement of job cuts, Novo Nordisk is under considerable pressure. However, a number of factors are making the share attractive again.
Doustdar's radical savings program
The consequences were serious: CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who had led the company unchallenged for eight years, had to step down. His successor, Maziar Mike Doustdar, who had started as an intern at Novo over 30 years ago, immediately launched a cost-cutting program that was radical by Danish standards. 9,000 jobs - around 11.5% of the workforce - are to be cut. However, the cutbacks also followed years of almost unbridled growth: the number of employees had previously risen from 45,000 in 2020 to 77,400. Doustdar's goal is clear: reduce costs, increase efficiency and regain lost ground
After the share price slump of almost 40% since the beginning of the year, the company is valued much more favorably: At around 15, the current P/E ratio is a good third below the historical average - a level that has rarely been seen, most recently in 2007/08, 2012, 2017 and 2019. Only during the financial crisis did it fall to around 12, before the share price subsequently recovered strongly. The risk/reward profile has thus shifted noticeably. If the restructuring succeeds, the market leader in the diabetes and obesity segment is currently very attractively valued.
