Yahoo Finance Trending tickers: Novo Nordisk | Moderna | Apple | Paypal
The latest investor updates on stocks that are trending on Thursday.
Novo Nordisk (NVO)
Novo Nordisk’s shares were up by 3% in premarket trading as the Danish manufacturer reported a surge in sales of obesity and diabetes drugs.
Revenue rose 29% year-on-year to 58.73bn kroner (£6.81bn/$8.3bn) while operating profit (EBIT) rose 33% to 26.9bn (£3.14bn/$3.82bn).
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, president and CEO, said: “We are very satisfied with the sales growth in the first nine months of 2023, which is reflecting that more people than ever are benefiting from our innovative diabetes and obesity treatments.”
The drugmaker, which this year overtook luxury goods company LVMH (MC.PA) as Europe's most valuable listed company, expects demand for its weight loss drugs to continue to outstrip supply.
Weightloss drug Wegovy has been in high demand as it offers more significant weight loss than previous medicines.
"We foresee that the underlying demand will continue to outpace supply in the short to medium term," Fruergaard said.
The company has submitted applications with US and European Union authorities for Wegovy to be approved to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.
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Moderna (MRNA)
Moderna MRNA is set to report third quarter results this Thursday ahead of the opening bell in the US.
The pharma company is expected to report a drop in sales of COVID-19 sales due to significantly lower demand.
Analysts at Zacks Equity Research estimate third-quarter product sales to come in at $1.31bn (£1.07bn).
“Due to the substantial fall in COVID-19 vaccine sales compared with previous quarters’ levels, we expect Moderna to post a quarterly loss in the to-be-reported quarter. Management is also expected to provide an update on vaccination trends for COVID-19 in the ongoing fall season during the third-quarter earnings conference call,” the research house said.
The company has said it expects total US COVID vaccine demand to be as much as 100 million doses this winter.
Moderna’s share price collapsed in October after rival Pfizer (PFE) cut about $8bn from its full-year outlook due to waning demand for COVID vaccines.
However, Moderna stuck with its guidance of $6bn to $8bn in full-year sales of COVID vaccine Spikevax.
The pharma company has recently launched an updated COVID booster targeting the latest XBB.1.5 strain.
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Apple (APPL)
Apple is expected to post its fourth consecutive quarterly sales decline when it reports earnings after the bell.
Wall Street is concerned about the holiday-quarter outlook in light of economic unease and China pressures.
Analysts expect $89.28bn in sales, which would be down about 1% from the same quarter last year.
“Despite slight outperformance over the last month, we still lean tactically cautious into earnings on Thursday,” Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring wrote in a note to clients.
The iPhone maker has lost $303bn in market value since its August earnings report.
“Sentiment has turned more challenging for shares of Apple in recent days with increasing concerns around the lower demand for the iPhone 15 Series in China, as well as lackluster consumer spending momentum globally,” said JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee in a research note.
Paypal (PYPL)
Paypal shares rose in premarket trading as third quarter results at the payments company topped analyst expectations.
PayPal’s earnings, when adjusted for asset impairment charges, climbed 20% year-over-year, amounting to $1.30 per share, ahead of the $1.23 per share anticipated by analysts.
The technology platform and digital payments company posted revenue of $7.42bn in the period, also beating expectations.
“My first 30 days leading PayPal have confirmed my belief in the company’s strong assets and market position. Now, we must harness these strengths and put the weight of the organization behind our most important priorities,” new chief executive, Alex Chriss, said.
PayPal said it expects full-year 2023 earnings to reach $3.75 per share.
Watch: How weight loss drugs are capturing Wall Street’s imagination
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