Cramer backs Eli Lilly as Novo Nordisk challenges GLP-1 ads

Eli Lilly shares gained more than 1% on Tuesday even after Novo Nordisk filed suit over Lilly’s advertising for its GLP-1 drugs, according to CNBC Investing Club commentary. Jim Cramer said the club was maintaining its support for Lilly, while Novo shares traded lower on the day.

The dispute centers on comparative marketing in the fast-growing obesity treatment market. Novo, the Danish maker of Wegovy, alleged that Lilly’s campaigns mislead consumers by presenting claims of superior efficacy that Novo says no longer reflect the available evidence.

According to the CNBC Investing Club, Novo said Lilly’s superiority claims are “outdated” because they do not account for a higher, more effective Wegovy dose approved in March. Lilly’s advertisements rely on a head-to-head study comparing Zepbound with Wegovy that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in May 2025, before the higher Wegovy dose was available commercially.

Lilly told CNBC on Tuesday that it stands behind its advertising. The company’s injectable GLP-1 franchise remains central to investor attention, given the scale of demand for obesity and diabetes drugs and the competitive tension between Lilly and Novo.

Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the CNBC Investing Club, described the lawsuit as “a nothing burger.” Marks said the debate should remain focused on the performance of Lilly’s injectable GLP-1 business, especially outside the United States, and on whether Foundayo, Lilly’s obesity pill, can gain more traction against Novo’s early advantage in the oral market.

“We’re sticking by Lilly,” Cramer said during the club’s Tuesday morning meeting. Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long Eli Lilly, according to the club.

Broader market gains

The Lilly discussion came as major U.S. stock indexes advanced Tuesday, supported by strength in semiconductor and technology-linked shares including Micron, Marvell Technology, Astera Labs and Intel, according to the CNBC Investing Club.

Intel rose nearly 7% after its third-party chip manufacturing operation secured Fortinet, the cybersecurity company, as its first named customer under Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan. Cramer also pointed to gains in 3M and General Motors after what the club characterized as strong quarterly reports.

“We are seeing the kinds of moves that remind me that there are other opportunities besides tech to make money that are not connected to SK Hynix,” Cramer said, referring to the South Korean memory-chip maker.

Software calls split

In enterprise software, Morgan Stanley downgraded Salesforce to a hold-equivalent rating from buy and reduced its price target to $185 from $287, according to the CNBC Investing Club. The move followed a KeyBanc downgrade less than two weeks earlier.

Morgan Stanley said Salesforce has been “actively disrupting itself” as it positions for the agentic AI era, but analysts said Agentforce has not accelerated quickly enough to produce a turn in organic growth. Cramer said he had “a sliver of hope” that Salesforce shares could improve or had finished falling. Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long Salesforce, according to the club.

Morgan Stanley maintained a buy-equivalent rating on Microsoft while cutting its price target to $600 from $650. The bank cited expectations for stronger Azure cloud growth as compute capacity expands and said Copilot monetization appeared to be improving.

Cramer said one of his key questions for Microsoft is its “contentious” relationship with OpenAI as the ChatGPT maker prepares for an initial public offering. He also cited pressure on Microsoft’s Xbox business, including rising memory costs for gaming consoles. Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long Microsoft, according to the club.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.