By Aaron Rennie

Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg via Getty Images

U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) sank roughly 20% in premarket trading after the Danish drugmaker cut its full-year outlook and named a new CEO.

Novo Nordisk, which makes blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, now expects 2025 sales growth at constant exchange rates of 8% to 14%, down from its early May forecast of 13% to 21%. It attributed the cut to lower growth expectations for Wegovy and Ozempic in the U.S. obesity and diabetes markets, respectively, and "lower-than-expected penetration" in some international markets.

Novo Nordisk named Maziar Mike Doustdar as its next CEO, effective Aug. 7, when he will replace Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen. In May, the company announced Jørgensen would be stepping down once a new chief executive was selected.

Novo Nordisk said that the sales outlook for Wegovy in the U.S. "reflects the persistent use of compounded GLP-1s, slower-than-expected market expansion and competition," indicating that it belives some competing products are being sold illegally. The company sees 2025 operating profit growth, or EBIT, of 10% to 16%, down from its prior projection of 16% to 24%.

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U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk entered Tuesday down about 20% this year and more than 45% over the past 12 months amid slowing sales growth and studies that showed the active ingredient in rival Eli Lilly's (LLY) Mounjaro and Zepbound caused greater weight loss than that of Ozempic and Wegovy.

Source: Investopedia