What Makes Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) an Attractive Investment Compared to Competitors?

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge All Cap Growth Strategy” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, growth stocks led the stock market to rebound from tariff uncertainty. The benchmark Russell 3000 Growth Index performed better as risk-on sentiment took hold, rising 17.6% and outperforming the Russell 3000 Value Index by over 1,300 basis points. The Strategy underperformed its Russell 3000 Growth Index benchmark in the second quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge All Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO). Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products. The one-month return of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) was 15.67%, and its shares lost 59.43% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 29, 2025, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) stock closed at $56.46 per share, with a market capitalization of $254.044 billion.

ClearBridge All Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

"In health care, we replaced Eli Lilly, a leading developer of GLP-1 treatments for diabetes and obesity, with its primary competitor Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO). Novo’s Wegovy drug was first to market among the new generation of obesity drugs; however, the company has lost market share to Lilly due to delays in scaling up production. While the initial market reaction to Novo’s enhanced CagriSema weight loss treatment was negative, we believe this is a more potent formulation that can better compete with Eli Lilly. With Novo poised to have a better product portfolio and improved supply position, we find the company’s valuation very attractive given the large secular growth trends behind the diabesity market."

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 45 hedge fund portfolios held Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) at the end of the second quarter, which was 60 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) and shared the list of best affordable growth stocks to buy. Burke Wealth Management sold its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) in Q2 2025, after its new obesity treatment, Cagri-Sema, underperformed compared to Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.