Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Point to Slightly Lower Open After 4-Day Winning Streak

Novo Nordisk Jumps on Weight-Loss Drug Trial Results

3 minutes ago

Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) shares surged Friday morning after the Danish drugmaker reported early stage results for its amycretin weight-loss drug.

The maker of Ozempic and Wegovy said that its Phase 1b/2a clinical trial showed people achieved weight loss from a mean baseline body weight of 92.7 kg (202.8 pounds) in three different maintenance doses, while those treated with placebo gained weight. In the highest dosage, 20mg, participants lost 22% of body weight after 36 weeks, while people treated with placebo gained 2% body weight.

At a dosage of 1.25mg over 20 weeks, people treated with amycretin lost 9.7% of their body weight, while those on placebo gained 1.9%. People given a dosage of 5mg over 28 weeks lost 16.2%, while those on placebo gained 2.3%.

Executive vice president for development Martin Lange said Novo Nordisk was “very encouraged” by the results. The firm said it now plans “further clinical development of amycretin in adults with overweight or obesity.”

U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk, which is a leader in the weight-loss drug market along with Mounjaro and Zepbound maker Eli Lilly (LLY), had been trending lower since September. The stock plunged 18% one day last month after trial results for its weight-loss drug CagriSema disappointed. 

Novo Nordisk’s U.S. shares were up 8% in recent trading, narrowing their loss over the past 12 months to 17%.

–Nisha Gopalan

Boeing Preliminary Q4 Results Show Impact of Strike

1 hr 8 min ago

Boeing (BA) released preliminary results early Friday that showed a bigger loss for the fourth quarter than analysts had expected.

The compan said it expects to report a fourth-quarter loss of $5.46 per share—far larger than the $1.40-per-share Visible Alpha consensus—when it issues its results on Tuesday. It also expects revenue of $15.2 billion, less than analysts’ estimate of $16.3 billion.

Boeing said its results were affected by the two-month machinists’ strike that crippled production, as well as charges around its defense segment and staff cuts.

“Although we face near-term challenges, we took important steps to stabilize our business during the quarter including reaching an agreement with our IAM-represented teammates and conducting a successful capital raise to improve our balance sheet,” said Boeing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kelly Ortberg, who took the reins at the embattled company in August.

Shares of Boeing, which said it had $26.3 billion in “cash and investments in marketable securities” at the end of the fourth quarter, were up 1% in recent trading after falling more than 2% in the opening minutes of the session. They have fallen about 16% over the past 12 months.

–Nisha Gopalan

Stock Futures Point to Lower Open for Major Indexes

2 hr 20 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures also slipped 0.1%.