Shares of Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant, experienced a 2.5% decline on Friday, following a 2.7% loss on Thursday, as analysts scrutinized the firm's first-quarter results and monitored developments in a potential rival weight loss treatment. The company reported that sales for its injectable weight loss treatment Wegovy more than doubled to 9.38 billion Danish kroner ($1.4 billion), offsetting a slight reduction in prices.

Despite the impressive sales figures, some analysts expected even higher weight loss drug sales in the quarter. Novo Nordisk's CFO, Karsten Knudsen, mentioned on a media call that the company anticipates further price drops as new competitors enter the market, although there's limited evidence of Wegovy users shifting to other rival treatments. Analysts, however, pointed out that Novo Nordisk's raise in 2024 outlook for both sales growth and operating profit was influenced by one-off accounting adjustments. While Novo Nordisk saw significant success in the weight loss treatment market, analysts remain cautious about inflated expectations and potential challenges ahead.