Christopher
Johnson: Granola,
that
tasty
treat
you
had
for
breakfast
or
left
in
your
child’s
lunch
box
this
morning,
could
also
provide
you
with
an
irresistible
return.
Yes,
you
heard
it
correctly. The
GRANOLAS
socks,
coined
by
Goldman
Sachs
in
2020,
describes
the
group
of
Europe’s
most
valuable
stocks:
• GSK
(GSK)
•
Roche
(ROG)
•
AstraZeneca
(AZN)
•
ASML
(ASML)
•
Nestle
(NESN)
•
Novartis
(NOVN)
•
Novo
Nordisk
(NOVO
B)
•
L’Oreal
(OR)
•
LVMH
(MC)
•
AstraZeneca
(AZN)
•
SAP
(SAP)
•
Sanofi
(SAN)
While
the
US’
Magnificent
Seven
are
all
tech
stocks,
this
European
group
sits
across
a
range
of
sectors,
and
is
home
to global
leaders
in
their
respective
fields,
like
Nestlé for
food
and
LVMH for
luxury
products.
Novo
Nordisk
leads
the
pack
with
the
highest
cumulative
return
rate
of
71.73%
over
one year
to
February
2024,
over
that
same
period
its
share
price
leapt
73.70%
to
its
current
price
of £97.58.
The
Danish
pharmaceutical
group’s
profits
have
been
bolstered
by
growing
demand
for
its
diabetes
treatment
Ozempic
and
its
weight-loss
drug
Wegovy.
Last
year,
it
reported
a
36%
jump
in
sales
to
$33.7
billion
while
profits
reached
heights
of
around
$15
billion,
which
at
the
time
left
the
company
etching
towards
a
whopping $500
billion
market
capitalisation.
However,
we
know
that
winners
come
hand
in
hand
with
losers,
and
the
pharmaceutical
company
Roche,
takes
the
crown
as
the
worst
performing
stock
in
the
GRANOLAS.
Over
the
one
year
to
February
2024,
the
stock’s
return
rate
went
below
0,
reporting
losses
of
10.37%.
Its
share
price
also
suffered
a
drop
of
18%
to
its
current
price
of
£220.86
over
that
same
period.
At
the
end
of
last
year
Roche
finalised
its
acquisition
of
obesity
drug
developer
Carmot
Therapeutics
for
$3.1
billion,
as
it
seeks
to
compete
with
companies
like
Novo
Nordisk’s
successful
weight
loss
treatments.
Roche
is
feeling
an
extra
urgency
to
perform
against
rivals
as
the
shadow
of
its
failure
to
complete
its
Alzheimer’s
drug
looms
over
the
business.
This
is
Christopher
Johnson,
for
Morningstar
UK.
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