Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) Stares Down 50-Day Moving Average

Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) is testing short-term resistance from its 50-day moving average following positive drug trial results

Jan 29, 2016 at 12:20 PM

Denmark-based drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S (ADR) (NYSE:NVO) is just one of several pharmaceutical stocks making moves today, after Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) got an FDA nod for its hepatitis C treatment, and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) announced a C-suite shake-up. NVO is trading 1.5% higher at $55.34, thanks to news that its Tresiba diabetes treatment showed positive results in a stage 3b study.

NVO shares topped out at $55.81 earlier today, and they're now on pace to topple resistance at their 50-day moving average, currently located at $55.19. This trendline has been surmounted just once on a daily closing basis since Jan. 6. From a longer-term perspective, support may be found around the $51 level -- home to NVO's 20-month moving average, which has contained the stock's pullbacks since 2009.

On the sentiment front, analysts are equally split between "strong buy" and "hold" ratings. Meanwhile, short interest on NVO accounts for only 0.3% of the stock's float -- but would take more than five sessions to buy back, at the stock's average daily volume.

With Novo Nordisk A/S (ADR) (NYSE:NVO) set to report fourth-quarter earnings next Wednesday, and data from the firm's Victoza drug trial due out by the end of this quarter -- which Leerink predicted could be "the biggest stock mover in 2016" -- the stock has enough potentially positive catalysts (and available sideline cash) to help it mount another assault on last year's highs near $60.

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