Laurus Labs shares hit 52-week low amid market rally, here’s why

Shares of Laurus Labs fell over 7% today after Kotak Institutional Equities assigned a sell call to the pharma firm with a target of Rs 350.  Laurus Labs stock slipped 7.04% to Rs 418.80 (fresh 52-week low) against the previous close of Rs 450.50 on BSE. The stock has been falling for two days. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 626 on April 19, 2022.  

Laurus Labs stock opened lower at Rs 446.95. Laurus Labs shares are trading lower than the 5-day, 20-day, 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages. The large cap share has lost 16.15% in one year and fallen 21.93% since the beginning of this year.

Market cap of the pharma firm fell to Rs 22,504 crore on BSE. Total 3.67 lakh shares of the firm changed hands amounting to a turnover of Rs 15.56 crore on BSE.

The target price of Rs 350 amounts to a downside of 22% to the previous close of Rs 450.50.

Kotak said it believes the company’s troubles on antiretroviral (ARV) pricing and looming cessation of Paxlovid sales are being under-appreciated.

Also Read: Dish TV shares tank 10% in 2 days. Stock exchanges seek clarification on sharp stock moves

The pharma company reported a 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in profit after tax at Rs 233 crore in the September quarter against Rs 201.90 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Sales climbed 31% to Rs 11, 575.89 crore  in Q2 against Rs 1203 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

EBITDA climbed 29 per cent YoY to Rs 449 crore while EBITDA margin came in at 28.5 per cent. PAT margins stood at 15 per cent.

Laurus Labs is an India-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company. The company is a manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for antiretroviral (ARV), oncology, cardiovascular, antidiabetics, anti-asthma and gastroenterology. It also develops and manufactures oral solid formulations, which provide contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) to other global pharma companies, and produce specialty ingredients for nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and cosmeceuticals.

Meanwhile, Sensex hit all-time high of 62,849.28 in early trade and Nifty scaled fresh peak of 18,662.60. HUL, Hindalco, Nestle India, Tata Steel and Titan were among the top gainers.