Oral Wegovy Debut in Britain and Analyst Bids Bolster Novo Nordisk as Eli Lilly Tightens Grip on Key Markets
Published on 07/11/2026 at 17:12 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Novo Nordisk has started selling an oral version of its blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy to private patients in the UK, charging £69 for the initial starter pack and £189 for the monthly maximum dose. The launch adds a fresh growth vector for the Danish drugmaker, whose shares closed the week at €43.32, up 1.29 percent on the day and roughly 16.78 percent higher over the past 30 days. The stock has clawed back from its 2026 low of €30.25 hit on March 2, but remains nearly 29 percent below the July 2025 record of €61.20.
The oral pill, already available in the US, has generated more than three million prescriptions within its first five months on the American market, the majority from patients new to GLP-1 therapies. In the UK, the National Health Service has not agreed to cover the drug, leaving the private-pay segment as the initial addressable market. Clinical data released alongside the rollout show a mean weight loss of up to 17 percent over 52 weeks. Britain's medicines regulator has also expanded semaglutide's approval to include advanced liver fibrosis.
Analysts have responded with upgraded targets. HSBC raised its price objective from 280 to 300 Danish kroner while maintaining a "Hold" rating. Danske Bank went further, setting a 365-kroner target and a "Buy" recommendation. According to S&P Global, the consensus of 14 analysts points to an average target of $46.72, with a range from $39.56 to $64.19, and the majority still classify the stock as a buy.
Underpinning the share price is an aggressive buyback that has been running since early February 2026. Novo Nordisk has repurchased 23 million B-shares at an average price of 270.32 kroner apiece, spending roughly 6.2 billion kroner in total. The company now holds about 40.2 million treasury B-shares, equivalent to 0.9 percent of its share capital. The full program, which authorizes up to 15 billion kroner over twelve months, continues at least through February 2027. Between May 2026 and February 2027, up to 11.2 billion kroner has been earmarked for further repurchases.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Novo Nordisk?
The buyback adds reliable demand, but the Danish group is also pushing ahead with pipeline expansion. A recently signed agreement with Vivani Medical gives Novo Nordisk a non-exclusive, internal evaluation license for NPM-139, a subcutaneous implant that uses Vivani’s NanoPortal technology to deliver semaglutide for long-term weight management. The deal carries no upfront payment, milestones, or royalties, and exclusivity is not included. Vivani aims to begin a first-in-human clinical trial around mid-2026, using Wegovy injections as the comparator.
These positive catalysts are unfolding against a backdrop of intensifying competition from Eli Lilly. In South Korea, Novo Nordisk restructured its local operations this month by merging its diabetes and obesity divisions and reshuffling management—a move that observers view as a direct response to Lilly’s aggressive push. The numbers explain why: Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro generated roughly 323.2 billion won in South Korean sales during the first quarter, while Wegovy managed only about 104 billion won, less than a third of that total. Novo Nordisk slashed wholesale prices by around 40 percent in an attempt to stem the losses, but the measure has not reversed the market-share erosion.
The pressure is even more pronounced in the United States. Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, a tirzepatide-based therapy, has pulled ahead of Wegovy in weekly prescriptions by more than 100,000 scripts. Zepbound now commands a near-60 percent share of the weekly US prescription market, leaving Wegovy trailing by a wide margin.
Novo Nordisk at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Technically, the recent rally has lifted the stock roughly 9.6 percent above its 50-day moving average of €39.51 and about 6.7 percent above the 200-day moving average of €40.60. The relative strength index stands at 66, signaling that the stock is approaching overbought territory. While the buyback, analyst upgrades, and the oral pill launch provide near-term support, the long-term picture remains mixed: year-to-date the shares are still down about 3 percent, and the 12-month decline from the July 2025 peak is roughly 29 percent.
Novo Nordisk thus faces a delicate balancing act. The repurchase program and new product rollouts offer ballast against Eli Lilly’s relentless inroads in South Korea and the US, but until the competitive pressure in those two pivotal markets eases, the operational headwind will remain a defining feature of the investment case.
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