Novo Nordisk Weighs Direct NYSE Listing as Pipeline Credibility Becomes the Real Test

CEO Mike Doustdar sees merit in a US direct listing, but no talks are under way and Copenhagen stays the main venue for now.

Novo Nordisk has signalled it could abandon its American depositary receipts in favour of a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, with chief executive Mike Doustdar telling the Financial Times in an interview published Wednesday that he sees merit in such a move. No active talks with exchange representatives are under way, he made clear, and Copenhagen remains the company's primary trading venue for the foreseeable future.

The strategic logic is hard to dispute. More than half of Novo Nordisk's total revenue is now generated in the United States, where the bulk of Wegovy and Ozempic sales are booked, and its shareholder base has drifted steadily away from Scandinavia over the past two decades. A direct listing would hand institutional US investors easier access to the stock — a path already taken by European pharma peer AstraZeneca earlier this year. Doustdar, who took the helm last year, noted that the NYSE question has been debated internally for some time without any formal dialogue with exchange officials during his tenure.

Shares ticked up 0.8% to EUR 34.73 in pre-market trading on the news.

A strategy day that asked more questions than it answered

The listing debate lands at an awkward moment. Investors are still digesting a subdued reception to the Danish drugmaker's long-term plans presented at its capital markets day in London, where management set out ambitions to establish more than five multi-blockbuster products by 2030 and reach over 60 million patients. Funding that push — and tightening the organisation — comes at a cost: roughly 13,000 jobs are being cut.

The central question for shareholders is whether the clinical pipeline can plug the revenue hole looming after semaglutide loses patent protection. Management is targeting risk-adjusted pipeline revenue exceeding DKK 150 billion by 2035, a figure that will stand or fall on the next generation of treatments.

CagriSema remains the most closely watched candidate, having delivered 21% weight loss in a Phase III obesity trial. If that therapeutic edge translates into regulatory approvals, Novo Nordisk could defend its position in the most lucrative segments of the diabetes and obesity market. Chief scientific officer Martin Lange has also floated diversification into addiction disorders, menopause and hair-loss treatments, opening entirely new indication territories.

Lilly's lead widens as the patent clock runs

Against that optimism sits a hardening competitive reality. Eli Lilly's rival product Zepbound is expected to outsell Wegovy by more than USD 7 billion this year, according to LSEG data, and the pressure is visible in the share price: the stock now trades 37% below its 52-week high.

Further out, semaglutide's key US patents expire in 2032 — a date that institutional investors are treating with growing seriousness. Morgan Stanley rates the shares Underweight with a price target of DKK 250, forecasting revenue and operating profit growth of just 2% to 3% in 2027. Should upcoming clinical readouts confirm those muted expectations, further valuation correction is the risk.

Chart levels and catalysts collide

The stock currently changes hands at EUR 34.51, down 22% since the start of the year. Its 52-week low of EUR 30.25 marks the line in the sand: hold above it and a technical base-building phase remains possible; lose it under sustained selling and a retest of multi-year lows comes into play.

What happens next depends largely on the pipeline. Decisions and trial launches across eight new indications are scheduled for late 2026 and early 2027 — the moments that will determine whether Novo Nordisk's long-term growth story holds up beyond its established blockbusters. Alongside bolt-on acquisitions, the company is placing particular emphasis on oral tablet therapies, which are expected to capture a growing share of the global obesity treatment market in the years ahead.