Eris Lifesciences surges 7%, hits 5-month high in a weak market

Shares of Eris Lifesciences hit a five-month high of Rs 473, up 7 per cent on the BSE on Friday, in an otherwise range-bound market. The stock of the pharmaceutical company was trading at its highest level since July 2019. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.20 per cent at 40,699 points at 11:17 am.

On Tuesday, the company announced acquisition of the trademark Zomelis, for Vildagliptin-based formulations, and its associated trademarks from Novartis AG, Switzerland, for a consideration of $13 million (roughly Rs 93 crore).

Used in the treatment of Type-II diabetes, Zomelis comes under a new class of anti-diabetic drugs known as DPP 4 inhibitors. Among the top 10 players in the anti-diabetes segment in the Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM), Eris will now start selling the product from December 10 in the Indian market, it said in a statement.

Besides, on November 25, Emerald Investments had acquired 2.60 per cent stake in Eris Lifesciences for Rs 147 crore. The foreign institutional investor bought the shares of the company at price of Rs 411.50 per share on the BSE, the bulk deal data shows. The high networth individual shareholders sold the shares through open market.

Analysts at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers believe the strong revenue growth, healthy EBITDA margin and low capex required, together with strong profit growth, would continue to result in healthy free-cash-flow generation for the company. The brokerage firm retains ‘Buy’ rating on the stock, with an unchanged price target of Rs 614.

In the past one month, the stock has outperformed the market by surging 17 per cent, as compared to a marginal 0.35 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.