Stock Market Today, Feb. 23: Novo Nordisk Plunges 16% After Obesity Drug Falls Short

MrDecoder · 2026-02-24T17:29:36+00:00

Novo Nordisk's stock fell 16.33% to $39.67 after its obesity drug CagriSema underperformed against Eli Lilly's tirzepatide in trials. Trading volume surged, leading to concerns about the company's growth strategy and future sales.

MrDecoder

2026-02-24 17:29:36

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NYSE: NVO

Novo Nordisk

Today’s Change

(-16.33%) $-7.75

Current Price

$39.67

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$160B

Day’s Range

$39.34 - $41.09

52wk Range

$39.34 - $93.80

Volume

3.7M

Avg Vol

21M

Gross Margin

80.90%

Dividend Yield

3.64%

Novo Nordisk (NVO 16.33%), a healthcare giant that develops and markets diabetes and obesity treatments, closed Monday at $39.63, down 16.43%. The stock fell after it announced CagriSema, its next-generation obesity drug, had not fared well in a head-to-head trial.

Trading volume reached 94.9 million shares, about 343% above its three-month average of 21.4 million shares. Novo Nordisk IPO’d in 1981 and has grown 24,669% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.04%) slipped 1.04% to 6,838, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.13%) fell 1.13% to finish at 22,627. Among pharmaceutical peers, Eli Lilly (LLY +4.78%) closed at $1,058.456, up 4.86%, while Novartis (NVS +1.20%) gained 1.25% to end at $164.70, as investors reassessed obesity‑drug leaders.

What this means for investors

Novo Nordisk’s dramatic drop sent the stock to its lowest point since 2021, wiping out gains from its Wegovy weight-loss drug. The stock, which peaked in 2024, was already struggling after initial data for CagriSema disappointed.

Today’s announcement showed the drug did not come out on top in a direct comparison with Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide. People taking CagriSema achieved 23% weight loss after 84 weeks of treatment, compared with 25.5% for tirzepatide. Deutsche Bank (DB 1.96%) downgraded Novo from “Buy” to “Hold” following the trial results.

Earlier this month, Novo shares dropped after the company warned that 2026 sales could decline by 5% to 13%. Investors are now questioning Novo Nordisk’s strategy and will be watching to see if it can expand beyond diabetes and obesity drugs.

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