Novo Nordisk Rolls Out Oral Pill in UK and Weekly Insulin in India as Buyback Helps Steady the Ship

Novo Nordisk shares surge over 40% from March lows, fueled by DKK 15B buyback, UK oral semaglutide rollout, and weekly insulin Awiqli debut in India. Analysts raise targets.

Novo Nordisk’s stock has clawed back more than 40% from its March trough, buoyed by a DKK 15 billion buyback and a series of product expansions that aim to counter Eli Lilly’s relentless market assault. At €42.85, the shares now sit 41.67% above the 52-week low of €30.25 hit on 2 March 2026, though they remain nearly 30% below the €61.20 peak of the past year. The recovery has been supported by a clutch of operational wins — from a regulatory nod in the UK for oral semaglutide at a higher dose to the imminent launch of the weekly insulin Awiqli in India.

Oral pill goes live in Britain, weekly insulin heads to India

British private patients can now buy the oral version of semaglutide in pharmacies, with a starter pack priced at £69 and the maximum monthly dose costing £189. The UK’s state health system does not yet reimburse the drug, but clinical data show weight loss of up to 17% within a year. The same pill has already proved a blockbuster in the US, where patients filled more than three million prescriptions in just five months. Separately, UK regulators have now cleared the active ingredient for use in advanced liver fibrosis, widening its therapeutic reach.

Across Asia, Novo Nordisk will launch Awiqli (insulin icodec) in India on Thursday, 9 July 2026. Marketed as the world’s first weekly basal insulin for both type?1 and type?2 diabetes, it cuts the annual injection count from 365 to 52. India is a critical market: more than 101 million people live with diabetes there, and another 136 million are pre?diabetic. Many patients currently avoid insulin therapy because of pain, cost or the burden of daily shots. India becomes the seventh country to receive Awiqli, following approvals in the US, the European Union and elsewhere.

Buyback engine keeps running

A hefty share repurchase programme continues to underpin the stock. The current tranche, worth around DKK 11 billion, runs until early February 2027 and is part of a total envelope of up to DKK 15 billion unveiled on 4 February 2026. As of 3 July, Novo Nordisk had bought back 23,009,179 B?shares at an average price of DKK 270.32, spending roughly DKK 6.2 billion. Those holdings now represent 0.9% of the company’s own share capital.

Institutional investors have also been adding exposure: Capstone Capital Management opened a new first?quarter position of 25,434 shares worth about $935,000, while Franklin Resources and T. Rowe Price adjusted their stakes. The institutional ownership ratio has crept up to 11.54%.

Analysts turn more bullish, but a CagriSema study falls by the wayside

HSBC has lifted its price target on Novo Nordisk shares to DKK 300, and the Danske Bank now targets DKK 365 with a buy recommendation. Across the Atlantic, the average Wall Street price target stands at roughly $47. On the technical side, the stock’s RSI of 63.8 suggests positive momentum without overheating, and the share price is comfortably above both the 50?day moving average of €39.37 and the 100?day average of €36.44.

Not everything in the pipeline is advancing smoothly. Novo Nordisk recently withdrew a phase?2 study that was designed to compare two injection devices for its investigational type?2 diabetes drug CagriSema. The last update on that trial was logged on 7 July 2026. Analysts view the move as a minor setback rather than a strategic warning, given the company’s more pressing focus on the oral obesity race.

Eli Lilly keeps gaining ground — especially in Korea and the US

The competitive picture remains daunting. Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide?based drugs continue to eat into Novo Nordisk’s market share. In South Korea, where Novo Nordisk recently merged its obesity and diabetes commercial units to defend the dwindling position, Mounjaro generated nearly three times the revenue of Wegovy in the first quarter. In the US, Lilly’s Zepbound is outpacing Wegovy by more than 100,000 new prescriptions each week, and the rival’s market share is closing in on 60%.

Still, Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide pill is holding its own in new prescriptions against Lilly’s oral candidate Foundayo, thanks to stronger weight?loss outcomes and fewer drug?drug interaction restrictions. Whether that advantage can translate into enough momentum to offset Lilly’s broader advance will determine whether the current stock rally can sustain itself through the second half of the year.