Pharma index surges 2%; Torrent, Mankind, Cipla, Aurobindo soar up to 5%

Pharma stocks: RPG Life, Thyrocare, Hester Biosciences, Rubicon Research, IOL Chemicals, Emcure and Suven Life from the BSE Healthcare index rallied between 4% and 8% on Monday.

Nifty Pharma index movement

 

Share prices of pharmaceutical companies extended their upward move, with the Nifty Pharma index surging 2% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in an otherwise weak market.

 

At 01:50 PM on Monday, the Nifty Pharma index was up 1.77 per cent at 26,099.30, as compared to a 0.35 per cent decline in the Nifty 50. The pharma index hit an intra-day high of 26,126.20. It hit a record high of 26,135.75 on July 16, 2026.

 

Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Mankind Pharma, Cipla, Laurus Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, Wockhardt, Sai Life Sciences, Alkem Laboratories, Divis Laboratories, Lupin and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories were up in the range of 2 per cent to 5 per cent on the NSE in intra-day deals.

 

 

RPG Life Sciences, Thyrocare Technologies, Hester Biosciences, Rubicon Research, IOL Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Themis Medicare and Suven Life Sciences from the BSE Healthcare index rallied between 4 per cent and 8 per cent.

 

Emcure Pharma – Motilal Oswal initiates coverage with ‘Buy’ rating

 

Emcure has built a diversified, chronic-focused domestic franchise anchored to women's health leadership and expanded into cardiology, CNS, Anti-diabetes, HIV, and oncology through strong brand-building, continued investments in field force/physician coverage, and asset-light, high-ROCE partnerships (Sanofi in cardiovascular, Novo Nordisk in diabetes/obesity, Roche for Nephrology/transplant portfolio).  Analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services expect the domestic business to sustain an 11 per cent sales compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over FY26-28E, reaching revenue of ₹4,900 crore by FY28E. 

 

After moderate financial performance over FY23 and FY24 due to high investments, Emcure delivered superior financial performance in FY25/FY26 on the back of healthy traction in international markets, partly supported by inorganic means and currency tailwinds, the brokerage firm said as it initiated coverage on the stock with a 'Buy' rating.

 

Considering a differentiated product pipeline supporting the manufacturing base and an efficient commercial channel network, we expect a CAGR of 14 per cent/20 per cent/28 per cent in revenue/EBITDA/PAT over FY26-28 to ₹11,900 crore/₹2,600 crore/₹1,450 crore.

 

The diversified earnings base with a 20 per cent average RoE over FY26-28 leads us to assign an industry-level PE multiple of 28x to Emcure and arrive at a target price of ₹2,260, Motilal said in its report.

 

Pharma sector overview, outlook

 

The global macro environment was highly dynamic amidst geopolitical conflicts, changing trade relations and an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. The Indian pharmaceuticals market on the other hand remained resilient and expanded by 8.6 per cent over the last year, RPG Life Sciences said in its FY26 annual report.

 

Share price of RPG Life Sciences hit a record high of ₹3,063.60, soaring 7 per cent on the NSE in intra-day deals. In the past month, the stock zoomed 33 per cent, as compared to 1 per cent rise in the Nifty 50.

 

The outlook for the market continues to remain encouraging. Rising healthcare awareness, expanding access to quality treatment, continuous innovation, improving healthcare infrastructure and a growing focus on chronic disease management provide a sturdy foundation for long-term industry growth, RPG Life Sciences said.

 

The International Formulations business is focused on increasing the penetration of existing and new products in multiple countries within the EU as well as expanding its product offerings in UK, Australia, Canada, Myanmar and other emerging markets. The Government’s focus on developing APIs and reducing dependence on imports furthers the strategic importance of the business, the company said.

 

Meanwhile, Torrent Pharma said in its FY26 annual report said the next phase of global medicine use will be defined by an increased patient-centric innovation through targeted, high-value therapies; expanded access in emerging markets via biosimilars and generics; and stronger therapeutic engagement across chronic and complex disease categories. Coupled with supportive health policy, continued investment in R&D, and responsive pricing strategies, the pharmaceutical sector is poised to deliver both clinical and commercial impact through 2030. 

Further, Indian generic pharma giants are aggressively pivoting towards the global biosimilar market, particularly in the US and EU, transitioning from generic drugs to complex biologics to drive their next phase of growth, analysts at BNP Paribas India said in the pharma sector report.

 

With 118 biologics set to lose patent protection by 2034, the brokerage firm believes Indian companies are looking at a significant market opportunity to capture. But looking at their near- and medium-term biosimilar pipeline, analysts note that they will be late market entrants in highly competitive markets. Therefore, they believe biosimilars will contribute meaningfully to profits only in the long run.  =====================================================  Disclaimer: View and outlook shared on the stock belong to the respective brokerages and are not endorsed by Business Standard. Readers discretion is advised.