The latest Market Talks covering the Health Care sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0859 GMT - Shares in Novo Nordisk rebound after Friday's selloff, triggered by disappointing data for the company's new experimental weight-loss injection CagriSema. The stock is recovering part of Friday's losses, when it closed down nearly 21% in its second-worst one-day percentage fall as a public company and the worst in more than two decades. The Danish pharmaceutical company shed $94.5 billion in market capitalization Friday, but retained the crown as Europe's most valuable listed company ahead of French luxury behemoth LVMH and German software group SAP. Shares trade 9.1% higher at 642.60 Danish kroner, but remain down 7.9% since the start of the year. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0834 GMT - Novo Nordisk's disappointing data for experimental weight-loss injection CagriSema has burst the company's obesity bubble, Intron Health analysts say in a research note. "The key concern around CagriSema is that the efficacy is not materially better than [Eli Lilly's] Zepbound, but the tolerability seems materially worse," the analysts say after Novo Nordisk released new results on Friday. The question now is how patients tolerated CagriSema and the answer won't be known until June, according to Intron Health. Many investors are now asking about the worst-case scenario for the Danish drugmaker in the obesity market, Intron Health says. Intron Health cuts its target price on Novo Nordisk to 800 Danish kroner from 1,150 kroner. Shares jump 8.2% to 637.30 kroner, partially recovering from Friday's slump. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0234 GMT - Top Glove could post sequentially stronger earnings in the remaining quarters of FY 2025, given it expects annual core net profit of 87.7 million ringgit versus core net loss of 178 million ringgit in FY 2024, CIMB Securities' Walter Aw Lik Hsin says. He expects Top Glove to benefit from rising glove demand globally, particularly from U.S. customers. Higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese medical gloves from 2025, concerns about China's glove quality and the country's depleted pandemic-era stockpiles are likely to boost demand for Malaysia-made gloves, the analyst adds in a note. However, CIMB Securities thinks the Malaysian glove maker's current valuations have largely priced in an improved outlook and brighter earnings prospects. It downgrades Top Glove's rating to hold from buy and raises the target price to MYR1.40 from MYR1.20. Shares are 3.0% higher at MYR1.36. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0110 GMT - Top Glove Corp.'s earnings outlook seems neutral, Public Investment Bank analyst Thye May Ting says in a note. Projected declines in raw material prices in 1H 2025 may pressure the company to maintain flat or slightly lower pricing to protect market share. However, higher sales volumes, spurred by a potential U.S. tariff hike on Chinese medical gloves due to take effect in January will likely mitigate some of that pressure, she says. Top Glove's production capacity is on track to increase 6.7% to 64 billion pieces annually, she adds. Public IB maintains a neutral rating on Top Glove with a MYR1.20 target. Shares are 3.0% higher at MYR1.36. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 23, 2024 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.