Gland Pharma slips 7% after over 5% equity changes hands via block deal

Shares of Gland Pharma slipped 7 per cent to Rs 1,735.05 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Tuesday's intraday trade after over 5 per cent of total equity of the drug company changed hands on the counter. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,195.75 on February 7, 2024.

Till 09:46 AM, as many as 11.29 million equity shares, representing 6.9 per cent of total equity of Gland Pharma, changed hands on the NSE, exchange data shows. The names of the buyers and sellers could not be ascertained immediately.

Besides, a combined 12.09 million shares had changed hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report. In comparison, the Nifty 50 was up 0.32 per cent at 22,738.

According to media reports, two entities – Nicomac Machinery and RP Advisory Services – were looking to sell up to 4.4 per cent stake in Gland Pharma through block deals on Tuesday.

As on December 31, 2023, RP Advisory Services Private Limited held 6.17 million shares (3.74 per cent stake) and Nicomac Machinery Private Limited held 1.96 million shares (1.19 per cent stake) in Gland Pharma, shareholding pattern data shows.

On Monday, the stock rallied 6 per cent after securing drug approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for 'Eribulin Mesylate Injection', 0.5 mg/mL single dose vial. The product is expected to be the first generic approval on the market, and the company expects to launch this product in the near term through its marketing partner.

The Eribulin Mesylate injection is indicated for treating patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) who have undergone at least two rounds of chemotherapy for managing metastatic disease. The product has US sales of approximately $92 million for twelve months ending in February 2024, according to IQVIA.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services expects Gland Pharma to deliver 20 per cent earnings CAGR over FY24-26 on the back of superior performance in core markets of US/EU/Canada/Australia and ROW markets, supported by improving Cenexi operations. "We value GLAND at 27x 12M forward earnings to arrive at a target price of Rs 2,240. After Y-o-Y earnings decline in FY23 and stable FY24, we expect earnings growth to improve over the next two years," the brokerage firm had said in a company update.