Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Has $2.32 Million Stock Position in Novo Nordisk A/S $NVO

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services increased its Novo Nordisk position by 128.4% in the second quarter, owning 48,394 shares valued at approximately $2.32 million. Other institutional investors also added sizable stakes, though institutions collectively own 11.54% of the company.
• Novo Nordisk reported encouraging phase 3 pediatric data for semaglutide, with 40.4% of children treated no longer classified as having obesity after 68 weeks. However, the company halted two phase 3 ziltivekimab cardiovascular trials, increasing concerns about pipeline diversification and reliance on its obesity franchise.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly cautious, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $64.94. NVO recently traded at $45.15, while its market capitalization stood at approximately $201.6 billion.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Free Report) by 128.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,394 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,209 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $2,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the first quarter valued at approximately $287,660,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in the third quarter valued at about $310,199,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,688,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,940,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836,285 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 851.6% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 4,807,279 shares of the company's stock worth $244,594,000 after acquiring an additional 4,302,126 shares during the period. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in Novo Nordisk A/S during the first quarter worth about $76,444,000. Institutional investors own 11.54% of the company's stock.

Novo Nordisk A/S News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Novo Nordisk A/S this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Novo Nordisk’s phase 3 STEP Young trial met its primary endpoint. After 68 weeks, 40.4% of children aged 6 to under 12 treated with semaglutide were no longer classified as having obesity, compared with 0% in the placebo group. The results support potential future use of Wegovy in younger children, subject to regulatory review. Novo Nordisk says semaglutide cut obesity rates in young children in trial
• Positive Sentiment: The pediatric results could open another significant growth market for Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 franchise, potentially broadening Wegovy’s reach beyond adults and adolescents. The company reported no new safety concerns related to growth or puberty in the trial coverage. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy helps free 40% of kids from obesity in phase 3 trial
• Positive Sentiment: Novo is continuing a share-repurchase program of up to DKK 15 billion over 12 months, which may provide modest support for earnings per share and signal confidence in the company’s valuation. Novo Nordisk share repurchase programme
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Executive Mike Doustdar expressed caution about the broader peptide investment craze. His comments suggest Novo is focused on commercially viable medicines rather than pursuing peptide technologies indiscriminately, but they may reinforce concerns about the company’s strategy as competition in obesity treatments intensifies. Why the CEO of Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk isn’t yet sold on the peptide craze
• Negative Sentiment: Novo halted two additional phase 3 trials of experimental cardiovascular drug ziltivekimab. The cancellations weaken the company’s efforts to diversify beyond its core diabetes and obesity products and reduce confidence in longer-term pipeline growth. Novo scraps two more heart drug trials
• Negative Sentiment: The contrasting trial outcomes highlighted Novo Nordisk’s concentration risk: pediatric Wegovy data were strong, but the cardiovascular setbacks leave the company more dependent on its existing obesity franchise. One analyst consequently downgraded the stock. Novo stock: STEP Young wins, but heart trials just got halted

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NVO shares. Berenberg Bank set a $47.00 price target on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. HSBC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Novo Nordisk A/S from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novo Nordisk A/S has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.94.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Performance

Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $45.15 on Wednesday. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 12-month low of $35.12 and a 12-month high of $64.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business's 50-day moving average price is $47.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.71. The stock has a market cap of $201.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.74.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 35.36% and a return on equity of 61.20%. The firm had revenue of $11.98 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.5786 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a yield of 258.0%. Novo Nordisk A/S's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.80%.

Novo Nordisk A/S Profile

Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish healthcare company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark. Founded in 1923, the company develops and manufactures pharmaceutical products focused primarily on diabetes and obesity care, as well as treatments for rare blood disorders and growth disorders.

Its diabetes portfolio includes insulin products and medicines in the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) class, including Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy. The company also offers treatments for obesity, hemophilia and other rare conditions, along with growth hormone therapies.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.