Novo Nordisk cuts outlook again amid obesity drug slowdown and Pfizer bidding war

Novo Nordisk reported quarterly earnings results Wednesday that missed Wall Street estimates, as the company fights a bidding war that could determine its future in the obesity drug market.

The Danish pharmaceutical giant reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $0.70, compared to the $0.76 analysts had estimated, per Bloomberg-compiled estimates. It also reported $11.7 billion in sales, short of the $11.9 billion the Street had penciled in. Novo trimmed its full-year growth forecast for the fourth time this year, too, and now projects sales growth of 8% to 11% and operating profit growth of 4% to 7%, down from its previous 8% to 14% and 4% to 10% forecasts, respectively.

The earnings report comes at a tumultuous time for the company. It’s bidding against Pfizer for obesity biotech company Metsera, which is working on next-generation GLP-1 drugs. This comes after its top investor shook up the board last month, accusing the previous directors of not being aggressive enough in the weight-loss drug race.

Novo was the first to bring GLP-1s to market but has seen its sales growth fade in recent quarters as it faces increased competition from Eli Lillyand telehealth companies that sell copies of its drugs, such as Hims & Hers.

Shares slumped as much as ~4% overnight, but have since rebounded to trade about 1.2% higher in the premarket at the time of writing. The stock is still down around 44% year to date.