Back to top

Image: Shutterstock

Novo Nordisk (NVO) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Novo Nordisk (NVO - Free Report) is scheduled to release its first-quarter 2023 results on May 4.

The company’s earnings surprise history has been encouraging so far, with its earnings beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missing in the remaining one, delivering an average beat of 3.00%. In the last reported quarter, Novo Nordisk delivered an earnings beat of 2.47%.

In the past year, shares of Novo Nordisk have rallied 46.7% against the industry’s 11.2% decline.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Let’s see how things are shaping up for the quarter to be reported.

Factors at Play

Novo Nordisk’s revenues in the last reported quarter were driven by higher sales of Diabetes and Obesity Care products. Diabetes medicines like Rybelsus, Ozempic and Victoza are expected to have put up a strong performance in the first quarter of 2023 as well.

Obesity Care (Saxenda and Wegovy) sales were up significantly year over year in the fourth quarter of 2022, after Novo Nordisk resolved issues regarding the availability of all doses of Wegovy in the United States. The company, in all likeliness, generated significant revenues from Wegovy sales, upon meeting demand in the U.S. market in the first quarter. Furthermore, the marketing authorization application was approved by the European Medicines Agency for Wegovy in January 2023. Hence, Novo Nordisk is expected to have recorded Wegovy sales in Europe in the first quarter of 2023, boosting its top line.

Sales in the Rare disease segment were down in the last reported quarter. This trend is likely to have continued in the to-be-reported quarter.

Intensifying competition within both Diabetes care and Rare Disease units is expected to impact the performance of Novo Nordisk.  

Persistent pricing pressure within Diabetes Care, especially in the United States, is likely to have negatively impacted sales in the first quarter of 2023.

Higher costs driven by clinical activity for late-stage studies are likely to have escalated research and development costs in the first quarter. Higher distribution costs, promotional activities and Obesity care market development activities are likely to have spiked Novo Nordisk’s sales and distribution costs in the first quarter of 2023.

What Our Model Predicts

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Novo Nordisk this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for NVO is 0.00% as the Zacks Consensus Estimate and the Most Accurate Estimate are both currently pegged at $1.30 per share.

Zacks Rank: The company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this time around.

Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.69% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Pfizer’s stock has dropped 19% in the past year. Pfizer beat earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters, missing its mark on the remaining one occasion, delivering an earnings surprise of 11.48%, on average. PFE had an earnings surprise of 10.68% in the last reported quarter.

Allogene Therapeutics (ALLO - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.43% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Allogene’s stock has dropped 40.6% in the past year. Allogene beat earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters. ALLO has an earnings surprise of 8.33%, on average.

Akero Therapeutics (AKRO - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +6.45% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Akero’s stock has shot up 299.3% in the past year. Akero beat earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing the mark on one occasion. AKRO has an earnings surprise of 8.38%, on average.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Published in