The pharma stock is extending its recent pullback
Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) stock is extending last session's 14.6% slide, down 3.7% to trade at $48.44 at last glance. Though the Wegovy maker's fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat estimates, a weak sales forecast is weighing on the shares, with the company warning of "unprecedented" price pressures amid weight-loss drug competition and President Trump's intent to cut drug costs.
Comparatively, sector peer Eli Lilly (LLY) is soaring today after issuing a stronger outlook. On track for its sixth loss in seven sessions, NVO is now trading at its lowest levels since December. Year over year, the equity is down 41.4%.
Options bulls appear to be buying in on the dip, with 56,000 calls exchanged so far today -- double the call volume typically seen at this point -- compared to 27,000 puts. The March 45 put is the most active contract.
Calls have been much more popular than usual over the last 10 weeks as well. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), NVO's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 4.59 ranks higher than 97% of readings from the past year.
Novo Nordisk stock has tended to outperform options traders' volatility expectations over the past 12 months, per its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 89 out of 100.