I first became aware of Novo Nordisk (NVO) back in 1996 when Charles Carlson mentioned it in one of his newsletters and explained his thesis at an investment conference. His thesis is still intact. The company designs and delivers medical treatments (including innovations in insulin delivery) for diabetes and a variety of other conditions (including coagulation and hormone replacement therapy.) Over the past sixteen years, Novo Nordisk has an annualized total return of 21.3% during a period when the S&P 500 delivered 4.3% — for a relative return of +17.0%! It’s nice to see Value Line give the 3-5 year forecast price a boost in this week’s update. Novo Nordisk might be something of a gold standard for a pounce pile. Buying opportunities have been limited (current conditions aren’t quite there yet) but they’re worth waiting for. We’ll be waiting, watching and willing to accumulate when that time comes.

Materially Stronger: Mylan Labs (MYL), Novo Nordisk (NVO)

Materially Weaker: DuPont (DD), AstraZeneca (AZN), Kelly Services (KELYA), Pan American Silver (PAAS)