At Novo Nordisk, the situation is coming to a head before the extraordinary general meeting. The group is facing a management restructuring while important investors are distancing themselves.
• Management restructuring causes unrest: majority owner prevails, minority shareholders express resistance
• Withdrawal of a board candidate increases uncertainty surrounding the realignment
• Shares have fallen sharply since the beginning of the year, but analysts still see moderate upside potential
Shift in power at Novo Nordisk: majority owner prevails
Shortly before the extraordinary general meeting on November 14th, the balance of power at Novo Nordisk is shifting noticeably. A report by CNBC shows that the majority owners of the Novo Nordisk Foundation want to push ahead with a comprehensive reorganization of the board and thereby replace long-standing structures.
The current independent members, including Chair Helge Lund, are to be replaced after internal differences between the current board and the Foundation became irreconcilable. At the same time, it appears that important minority shareholders are refusing their support.
According to CNBC, Norges Bank Investment Management announced that it would abstain from the vote, while the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, among others, plans to vote against.
Retirement of Mikael Dolsten and further planned board appointments
The situation was further strained when Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s former head of research, withdrew his candidacy at short notice. According to a statement from Novo Nordisk, this happened due to personal circumstances unrelated to the company or the Foundation. As the company announcement further shows, no replacement candidate will be nominated at the extraordinary general meeting.
Instead, the Foundation plans to finalize the full staffing only at the annual general meeting in March 2026. It is already clear that Lars Rebien Sørensen will take over as chairman, while Cees de Jong will serve as vice-chairman.
Stress factors in the US market
However, the structural challenges are not exclusively due to internal power issues. As CNBC reports, the group has lost momentum in the US market, especially in competition with Eli Lilly. According to the broadcaster, its products Mounjaro and Zepbound achieve greater weight reductions at high doses and are rapidly gaining market share.
At the same time, the group is observing increasing competitive pressure from so-called compounding pharmacies, which offer cheaper copycat preparations and are pushing sales aimed directly at end consumers.
Shares continue to lose value, analysts remain cautiously optimistic
The latest developments are clearly reflected in the share price: the share is currently trading at DKK 309.40, 2.90 percent lower than the previous day. Since the beginning of the year, the decline is now over 50 percent. NYSE-traded ADRs last closed at $49.16 and are trading at $48.28, down 1.8 percent.
The analysts’ view is less clear: According to TipRanks, there are eight assessments for the ADRs traded on the NYSE, five of which are buy recommendations, two hold recommendations and one sell recommendation. The average price target is $61.20 and implies a theoretical upside potential of almost 27 percent.
Editorial team finanzen.net
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