Diabetes giant shows sign of bouncing back after excelling in 1st-qtr

Danish diabetes giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) saw its share price decline by a massive 36% in 2016, but the roots of recovery are evident after it reported its first-quarter results for 2017, sending shares up by 6% in five hours of trading on Wednesday to 281.60 Danish kroner.

Compared to the first quarter of 2016, sales increased by 5% in kroner and 3% in local currencies to 28.5 billion kroner ($4.18 billion), beating the FactSet compiled consensus of 27.9 billion kroner.

Operating profit for the quarter was also ahead of expectations, rising 10% or 6% in local currencies to 13.5 billion kroner. Net profit rose by 7% to 10.2 billion kroner. Diluted earnings per share increased by 9% to 4.06 kroner.