Shares of Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) fell on Monday, finishing down 5.6%. The drop comes as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5% and 2.6%, respectively.
The Danish drugmaker’s stock slumped after the company announced that a Phase II trial had failed to show positive results.
Novo had been testing whether semaglutide, the key ingredient in its blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs, could be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
The results did show some positive signs across certain biomarkers related to Alzheimer’s, but that didn’t translate into actually slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s down — the only result that mattered.
Despite Novo Nordisk’s own caution regarding the trial — the company has said the trial had a low likelihood of success — the results still hit Novo stock hard, arriving at a time when the company faces increasing competition in the obesity and weight loss market.
While the company faces significant hurdles in trying to regain its footing, I think Novo is a solid pick. Growth could be bumpy in the near term, but long term, I think there is real value.
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 $562,536!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,096,510!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 981% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 187% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of November 24, 2025
Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Why Novo Nordisk Stock Sank 5.6% Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
