Why Novo Nordisk Stock Keeps Going Down

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) stock is in a funk. Shares of the GLP-1 diet drug manufacturer have been sliding all week long, beginning with a 3% decline on Monday from last Friday's close, and falling another 2.6% through 10:10 a.m. ET on Thursday.

And why? Monday's decline probably owes to rival GLP-1 company Hims & Hers Health running a high-publicity ad during the Super Bowl Sunday night, hawking its wares -- compounded medicines that duplicate the effect of Novo's own Ozempic and Wegovy.

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In fact, Novo Nordisk shares began falling even before the ad aired, as investors worried over what effect it might have on Novo's sales. In total, Novo's share price has fallen for five straight days, and is now down a combined 8.5%.

Bad news gets worse

It doesn't help of course, that just yesterday The Fly reported investment bank Morgan Stanley had initiated Novo Nordisk stock coverage with only an "equal weight" (i.e., hold) rating. According to the analyst, Novo stock is "skewed to the downside," with the analyst worrying about "dynamics" in the U.S. obesity market.

Lucky for Novo stock, though, obesity may not be the only treatment it has in its bag of tricks.

Finally, some good news for Novo Nordisk

As Bloomberg and The Fly reported yesterday, the Journal of the American Medical Association just published a small study that suggests that "low doses" of semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic) may be helpful in getting people to drink less.

Forty-eight patients studied over nine weeks, reports JAMA, showed "significant ... reductions in how much alcohol they drank." And 40% of participants reported not drinking heavily at all during the study. JAMA also noted a reduction in tobacco use within the study group. And that sounds to me like Novo Nordisk may have just discovered two new revenue streams it can extract from Ozempic.

While not super cheap today, at 26 times trailing earnings and with growth prospects perking up, it may be time to take another look at Novo Nordisk stock.

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.