Select pharma shares rally on heavy volumes

SPARC, Wockhardt, GlaxoSmithKline Pharma, Indoco Remedies and Natco Pharma have rallied 5-10% on BSE.

Shares of select pharmaceutical companies Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC), Wockhardt, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Indoco Remedies and Natco Pharma have rallied between 5-10% on back of heavy volumes in otherwise subdued market on BSE.

At 13:29 hours, S&P BSE Healthcare index, the largest gainer among sectoral indices, was up 1% or 113 points as compared to 0.40% or 114 points decline in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.

SPARC has surged 10% to Rs 200 after the company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter to its New Drug Application (NDA) for Latanoprost BAK-free eyedrops.

The stock hit a high of Rs 209 in early morning deals and has seen over ten-fold jump in trading volumes. A combined 4.57 million shares representing 2% of total equity of the company changed hands so far.

Wockhardt rallied over 8% to Rs 929, on back of three-fold rise in trading volumes on BSE.  The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 939 in intra-day trade and has seen a combined 4.55 million shares changing hands on the counter on NSE and BSE.

The stock gained 12% in past three trading sessions from Rs 828 after the NSE included the company in its futures & options (F&O) segment from November 28.

Among the other individual stocks, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals has surged 7% to Rs 3,180, followed by Indoco Remedies and Natco Pharma, which are up 5% each at Rs 308 and Rs 1,409 respectively.

Aurobindo Pharma, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Cadila Healthcare, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Biocon, Strides Arcolab, Ipca Laboratories and Ranbaxy Laboratories up 1-3%.