Fresenius Medical Care Ag Adr (FMS)

Shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMS) dropped by 17.57% from $20.95 to $17.27 in the trading on Wednesday, October 11, 2023. The reason why FMS stock down is due to a competitor's successful kidney disease prevention drug. As the world's largest provider of kidney disease products and services, Fresenius had been treating around 344,000 patients in 4,050 dialysis clinics. However, the stock drop was not exclusive to Fresenius, as some other dialysis companies like DaVita and Baxter International also suffered losses. This market turbulence was triggered by Novo Nordisk's early termination of a phase 3 trial for Ozempic (semaglutide), which showed remarkable effectiveness in slowing kidney disease progression in type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease patients, potentially disrupting the need for dialysis. This setback compounded Fresenius' existing struggles, evident in its underwhelming second-quarter results and a bleak outlook for yearly operating income.