Shares of the Danish drugmaker have soared 40% so far this year, boosted by an explosion in demand for its weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. At the close of trading Monday, Novo Nordisk had a market capitalization of 2.96 trillion Danish krone .
’s market value was around $416 billion. The French firm — which sells Louis Vuitton handbags and Hennessy cognac — has been hurt by the slowing Chinese economy. Its stock has dropped 8% over the past six months, trimming this year’s gains to 12%. Sales of Wegovy and Ozempic have skyrocketed in recent months. Ozempic is a drug developed to treat type 2 diabetes that contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy, and which some physicians have prescribed to patients to help them lose weight.