Pharmaceutical companies with robust drug portfolios and pipelines can generate substantial wealth for investors over time. That's because they have the vital ingredients necessary to power revenue and profits higher: needed products that help patients. And this translates into capital appreciation.

Few companies better exemplify this pattern than Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). In just five years, the company has turned a $10,000 investment into $39,000, including reinvested dividends. By comparison, the same amount invested in the S&P 500 would now be worth just $17,000 with dividends reinvested.

For an idea of what drove these sizzling returns -- and what could lay ahead -- let's examine Novo Nordisk's fundamentals.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com