1 Reason Novo Nordisk (NVO) Is 1 of the Best Healthcare Stocks You Can Buy Today
Key Points
Novo Nordisk is leading the race to get an oral weight loss GLP-1 drug approved.
It needs to ensure it has addressed production quality and supply chain issues.
Oral Wegovy is demonstrating superiority over Eli Lilly's comparable candidate.
- 10 stocks we like better than Novo Nordisk ›
Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) has come under pressure over the past year (down almost 52%) as profit assumptions for its weight loss drug Wegovy have been pared back. A combination of high-profile quality control issues, supply chain bottlenecks , and increasing competition from Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) Zepbound have dramatically reset investor expectations.
Still, the company looks set to turn the tide in the battle over weight loss drugs. Here's why.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »
Image source: Getty Images.
Novo Nordisk and the oral GLP-1 weight loss market
There are two key reasons why Novo Nordisk can emerge victorious in the race to commercialize an oral version of a GLP-1 weight loss drug -- the currently approved drugs are injectables.
First, it's the first in line to be approved, with a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision due in the fourth quarter of this year. In contrast, Eli Lilly plans to submit oral weight loss drug orforglipron for regulatory review in obesity in late 2025, and for type 2 diabetes in late 2026.
Second, based on the current data, Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy appears to have the edge over orforglipron in obesity. The company recently published results for the phase 3 (OASIS-4) trial, which demonstrated an efficacy and safety advantage over Eli Lilly's orforglipron.
|
Company |
Drug (oral for weight loss) |
Trial |
Discontinuation rate due to adverse effects (treated) |
Discontinuation rate due to adverse effects (placebo) |
Body weight change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Novo Nordisk |
semaglutide (oral Wegovy) |
OASIS-4 |
6.9% |
5.9% |
16.6% |
|
Eli Lilly |
orforglipron |
ATTAIN-1 |
10.3%* |
2.6% |
12.4%* |
Data source: Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk presentations. *At the highest dosage.
Where next for Novo Nordisk?
All told, if Novo Nordisk can secure oral Wegovy approval first and continue to demonstrate superiority in the lab, while avoiding any operational mishaps, the company looks well-positioned to prosper in 2026.
Should you invest $1,000 in Novo Nordisk right now?
Before you buy stock in Novo Nordisk, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Novo Nordisk wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $657,110!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,093,751!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,064% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of September 22, 2025
Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
