Indian pharmaceutical company Emcure Pharmaceuticals saw its shares jump 34.9% in their
debut trading session on Wednesday, exceeding analysts’ predictions and valuing the firm at
18.64 billion rupees ($223.3 million). The company’s robust presence in women’s healthcare
and HIV treatments attracted significant investor interest.
By Kashish Tandon and VarunVyas Hebbalalu
London: Bengaluru: Indian pharmaceutical company Emcure Pharmaceuticals saw its shares
jump 34.9% in their debut trading session on Wednesday, exceeding analysts’ predictions and
valuing the firm at 18.64 billion rupees ($223.3 million). The company’s robust presence in
women’s healthcare and HIV treatments attracted significant investor interest.
In a bustling IPO market where over 100 companies have collectively raised over $4.6 billion
this year, Bain Capital-backed Emcure is the first pharmaceutical firm to go public in 2024.
Analysts had anticipated Emcure’s shares would list at roughly a 20% premium.
The stock began trading at 1,325.05 rupees on the National Stock Exchange, up from its offer
price of 1,008 rupees.
The company’s initial public offering was oversubscribed nearly 68 times last week,
attracting bids totaling $11 billion, with Bain selling close to a third of its 13.07% stake.
Six pharmaceutical companies went public in 2023, with the largest being Mankind Pharma’s
debut in May 2023, marking the biggest IPO across sectors that year.
Analysts have highlighted Emcure’s core focus areas, such as gynaecology—where it holds a
leading 14% market share—and HIV treatments, as key drivers of sales growth.
The company’s above-average industry price-to-earnings ratio of 36.6 also attracted investors.
Emcure’s gynaecology portfolio includes treatments for infertility and menstrual pain.
Analysts are now closely watching the company’s growth strategy to determine the fair value
of the business from a medium-term perspective, said Sunny Agrawal, an analyst at SBI
Securities.
“From a long-term perspective, we remain optimistic about the growth prospects of the
pharmaceutical sector and Emcure,” he added.
Emcure ranks as India’s 13th largest pharmaceutical company by market share, in a sector led
by firms such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Mankind Pharma, and Torrent Pharma. ($1 =
83.4825 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Varun Hebbalalu in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sohini Goswami).
