Lupin gains No 2 slot overtaking Dr Reddy's

The stock has outperformed the market by surging 30% since Q4 earnings on April 8 compared to 10% rise in benchmark Sensex.

Lupin has become the country's second most valuable pharmaceutical company with market capitalisation of over Rs 36,123 crore. The company has surpassed Dr Reddy’s Laboratories having market capitalization of Rs 35,298 crore.

Lupin hit a record high of Rs 811 on BSE, has outperformed the market by surging 30% since announcement of its March quarter results on April 8. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has gained 9.1%, while the benchmark Sensex surged around 10% during the same period.

The drug maker had posted a nearly three-fold increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 408 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31 on back of strong operational performance. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 156 crore in the same period of the previous financial year.

Most of the analysts have bullish on Lupin’s prospects. Out of 56 analysts polled by Bloomberg, 41 have BUY rating on the stock, while the remaining 15 have SELL rating.

Analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities maintains BUY rating on stock with a target price of Rs 851 in its report dated May 9, 2013. Analyst says Lupin has a pipeline of 116 products with market size around $54 billion to support US growth, while India formulations will continue to outperform the industry. 

Meanwhile, the overseas investors are betting big on Lupin stock. Foreign institutional investors holding in the pharma company touched a historic high at 28.8% in March 2013 quarter.