Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) shares are down 6.2% to trade at $40.55, after investors came away unimpressed about the
drugmaker's pipeline amid increasingly crowded competition in the weight loss market. Novo plans to launch at least five blockbuster drugs with potential by 2030 and expects overall revenue growth between 2026 and 2030 to match sector peers. The goals matched sector peers, preventing Novo from separating itself from the competition.
Shares are down 33.3% year over year and have retraced steps back to June lows, pacing for their third loss in the past five trading sessions. The Danish drugmaker sports a 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 32 on the cusp of "oversold" territory however, suggesting a short-term bounce may be in the cards.
Options traders are betting bullishly. NOVO sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 9.95 on the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio stands higher than 91% of all other readings from the past year, hinting at a much healthier-than-usual appetite for bearish bets over bullish of late.
Options are cheap at the moment too, per NVO's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 36%, which stands higher than just 19% of all other readings from the past year. It's also worth noting NVO's
Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at a relatively high 86 out of 100, indicating Novo's stock has tended to exceed option traders' volatility expectations during the past year.
