Is Novo Nordisk a Hot Stock to Buy Now After its Spectacular Q4?

Two of the most talked-about drugs in the U.S., obesity treatment Wegovy and diabetes medication Ozempic, are made by the same company: Denmark-based Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). There wouldn’t be so much chatter if these drugs weren’t flying off pharmacy shelves these days, particularly in the case of Wegovy.

Solid evidence of this was provided early this week by the company, which released highly encouraging quarterly and annual results featuring plenty of high-growth figures. Let’s pick these apart a little to see if the popular stock is still worthy of a buy.

Weight loss is Novo Nordisk’s gain

Among the many eye-catching numbers in the quarterly income breakdown graphic below is the net sales growth figure; this was far in the double digits at 37% year-over-year, climbing to a U.S. dollar equivalent of $9.9 billion. Edging into the $10 billion club alone makes Novo Nordisk an important player throughout the world.

No one who’s followed Novo Nordisk’s fortunes even casually will be surprised by this circumstance. Take a look at the growth rates for the company’s three categories. Which one stands out the most? Obesity care, of course, sales for which more than doubled over the year-ago quarter. This was powered by a nearly four-fold rise for Wegovy, to a bit over $1.4 billion in greenback dollar terms.

The drug has really tapped into a want and need in this country, where poor diets, high food intake, and unhealthy lifestyles result in a populace that as a whole is notoriously overweight.

This also explains the geographic disparity in Novo Nordisk’s sales growth. For the quarter, the rapidly emerging pharmaceutical powerhouse booked a 60% gain in its North American take (to the equivalent of almost $6.4 billion). There was growth in the company’s collection of international markets as well, but this paled in comparison, with a rise of 8% to less than $3.5 billion.

With the snowballing Wegovy front and center in its product lineup, overall sales…