LVMH - Novo Nordisk fight for the title of the most valuable listed company in Europe

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk briefly dethroned LVMH on Friday to become Europe's most valuable listed company, ending the French luxury goods group's two-and-a-half-year dominance, according to Reuters.

In April, LVMH's market capitalization surpassed the $500 billion mark, becoming the first European company to reach this milestone, thanks to increased sales of luxury goods in China and the appreciation of the euro. Now, the worrying outlook regarding the evolution of the Chinese economy has affected the performance of LVMH shares. Since April, LVMH shares have fallen by 13.8%.

Meanwhile, Novo is benefiting from high demand for anti-diabetic and weight-loss drugs, which has led to a record level of shares and solid financial results, notes Agerpres.

Since August 8, Novo shares have climbed 17% after the company announced that its anti-obesity drug Wegovy showed clear medical benefits in addition to weight loss, according to a large late-stage study.

As of 08:43 GMT on Friday, Novo Nordisk's market capitalization had reached $421 billion, including unlisted shares, according to Refinitiv data. At the same time, LVMH's market capitalization was 420.97 billion dollars. LVMH is the most valuable listed company in Europe as of February 2021, when it overtook Nestle.

At 10:30 GMT, LVMH's market cap was higher again at about $423.9 billion, and Novo's was at about $421.9 billion.

In the last three years, Novo's share price has tripled, and LVMH's share price has doubled.

In ten years, annual sales of weight-loss drugs are expected to reach $100 billion, up from about $6 billion today, according to analysts at Barclays.