Two years ago, Novo Nordisk $NOVO B (-2,16%) was regarded as the best European company, as evidenced by the fact that it was the most valuable European company by market capitalization. Added to this was the seemingly endless fantasy for the weight loss product GLP-1.
After two years, the company has now reached a new low: the announcement that its own "weight loss pill" failed to meet expectations in a study and also performed worse than the product of its biggest competitor Eli Lilly $LLY (-1,63%) . This can happen; after all, the success of such a new drug is by no means guaranteed.
However, the company's management does not present a good picture at all. First, the CEO is fired to make a fresh start clear - including downward adjustments to the forecast, of course. Not an unusual move to come clean and deliberately keep expectations low. But this was followed by further forecast cuts and earnings misses. Earnings are now expected to shrink in the coming financial year.
As a shareholder, you get the feeling that you are only being told half the truth. The salami-slicing tactic is being used. This is rarely a good sign, because there is a lack of clear transparency and a strategy for getting out of this situation.
This is why I sold 2/3 of my Novo Nordisk position at a price of around €45 before yesterday's sell-off. I am keeping the remaining position as a "watcher" position. The loss of around 25% hurts, but without confidence and a clear plan from the top management, I see little perspective here.
How are you dealing with your Novo Nordisk position? What recovery prospects do you see? Let's have a discussion.
Stay tuned
