COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk’s shares rose by 5.4% on Thursday as investors turned more positive about the Danish drugmaker’s prospects following a key diabetes conference held in Vienna this week.
Novo’s shares plunged in July when the company issued a profit warning and announced that a veteran company insider, Maziar Mike Doustdar, would become its new CEO on August 7.
He has since announced large staff cuts to reduce costs, helping the stock regain some of the recent losses.
Novo Nordisk did not unveil groundbreaking data at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference, but the company was “changing commercial focus” under Doustdar, analysts at Barclays said in a research note.
“Collectively, these moves suggest Novo is positioning itself to sharpen execution and more effectively compete with Eli Lilly,” Barclays wrote.
German brokers Baader said Novo Nordisk was a “a compelling opportunity” to invest in after the stock’s fall of roughly 60% over the past 15 months.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
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