Street signs: MFs place contra bets in pharma, Biocon sees rise, and more

MFs place contra bets in pharma

Pharmaceutical stocks have been one of the worst performers this year, with the BSE Healthcare index down 15 per cent from January highs, while the Sensex is up 4 per cent. Bucking the negative trend, two new fund offers (NFOs) tracking the pharma space — Mirae Asset Healthcare and ICICI Prudential PHD — are coming out this month. Industry insiders say, the pharma sector can be an interesting investment opportunity given the long-drawn correction it has gone through and that the margin erosion faced by Indian pharma companies could bottom out in a few months. Friday’s news of the US regulatory relief for Sun Pharmaceutical’s Halol plant also augurs well for pharma stocks and mutual funds (MFs).

Jash Kriplani

Future Retail in lockstep with DMart

Shares of Avenue Supermarts get a lot of market attention as they have soared more than five times over their IPO price. However, since the DMart operator’s debut in March last year, another retail stock Future Retail has moved almost lockstep. Since April 2017, the RK Damani-owned firm has gained 2.5 times, while the Kishore Biyani-led firm is up 2.2 times. Experts say, investors bullish on India’s retail theme see equal opportunities in both stocks. 

Samie Modak 

Biocon sees rise in ‘buy’ calls  
 

Brokerages are giving strong buy calls on Biocon even as the stock took a 10 per cent beating in the last one week. Close to 60 per cent of brokerages are now recommending the stock against only 45 per cent two weeks ago. Analysts say, Biocon offers good growth potential in several segments and the recent fall has also brought down the valuations. “There is a strong product pipeline for Biocon in biosimilar products with three of them in advanced stages of regulatory approvals. The small molecules business is also picking up for the company. The 10 per cent correction also makes further investment case for investors,” says an analyst.

Pavan Burugula