Novo Nordisk regained its status as Europe's most valuable company on a day of falling markets

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which produces popular drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, has moved to the first place in Europe by market capitalization. Despite a 0.6% drop in Copenhagen, it outperformed German software developer SAP. Novo shares have fallen in price by 17% since the beginning of the year, but analysts are in no hurry to drop their buy recommendations.

Novo Nordisk shares decreased 0.6% to DKK 516.2 (EUR 69.2) at the end of trading in Copenhagen on June 13. The market capitalization amounted to DKK 2.3 trillion (approximately €308.39 billion). Thus, Novo rose to the first place among European companies in terms of capitalization, displacing from it the software developer from Germany SAP. Its securities on the German stock exchange Xetra dropped by 2.45%, and its market value fell to 304.8 billion euros.

In U.S. trading, Novo receipts decreased by about 0.5% on Friday, while SAP securities decreased by nearly 2%.

Novo managed to achieve the status of Europe's most valuable company on a day when markets fell on investor concerns over Israeli strikes on Iran. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.9 percent, with Germany's Dax and France's CAC 40 losing 1 percent each. Major U.S. stock indexes were also down, with the S&P 500, for example, down 0.5% and the Dow Jones blue-chip index down 1%.

Novo Nordisk first became Europe's most valuable company in September 2023, when it beat the world's largest luxury holding LVMH. After that, the French company briefly reclaimed that status, but then ceded it back to Novo. SAP removed the Danish company from that position in March 2025.

Novo Nordisk on May 12 announced that it plans to move its experimental weight-loss drug amycretin into late-stage development after receiving regulatory feedback. The company intends to start this stage in the first quarter of 2026.

Amicretin is a next-generation overweight drug that could replace Novo's current successful Wegovy and Ozempic, wrote Reuters. According to early-stage study results published in January, weekly injections of the drug helped patients lose 22 percent of their weight over 36 weeks.

In addition, the company's shares got a boost this week after the Financial Times reported that activist investor Parvus Asset Management is building up a stake in it and seeking to influence the selection of its new chief, accounts Bloomberg. The company announced the firing of past CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen in May, reducing its full-year revenue and profit growth forecast before doing so. 

Novo Nordisk shares have fallen 48% over the past year and 17% since the start of 2025 due to disappointing trial results for a new obesity drug and lower-than-expected sales. The company faced stiff competition from U.S. pharma giant Eli Lilly in the market for weight-loss drugs and the rapid spread in the U.S. of cheaper copies of drugs authorized during a period of shortages of originals.

Despite the drop in the value of Novo's securities, most analysts (18 out of 30) advise buying them: they have 15 Buy ratings and three Overweight ratings, shows MarketWatch. Another nine analysts recommend Hold, while three recommend Sell.

In June, UBS and Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating for Novo Nordisk shares, shows MarketScreener.