CLSA Lowers Revenue EstimateWhy Is JPMorgan Underweight On Dr. Reddy's?
Jefferies Is Also Bearish On Dr. Reddy'sShares of Hyderabad-based drugmaker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. fell as much as 7% on Thursday, July 23, after reporting a weaker-than-expected quarterly performance for the June quarter.
The brokerage has cited the current earnings trajectory and valuations behind their "neutral" stance.
Reddy's first quarter profitability was hit by a ₹240 crore Semaglutide API provision.
In the 16 trading sessions so far in July, the stock has gained in only 12 of those.
CLSA Lowers Revenue Estimate
Why Is JPMorgan Underweight On Dr. Reddy's?
Jefferies Is Also Bearish On Dr. Reddy's
Shares of Hyderabad-based drugmaker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. fell as much as 7% on Thursday, July 23, after reporting a weaker-than-expected quarterly performance for the June quarter. The company's American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or those shares listed in the US, fell 10% overnight, in response to the results.Majority of the analysts tracking the stock have a "sell" or bearish stance on it.Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal has maintained its "neutral" rating on the stock but has cut its price target down to ₹1,125, which implies a downside potential of 5% from Wednesday's closing levels. The brokerage has cited the current earnings trajectory and valuations behind their "neutral" stance."With work-in-progress for resolving the Semaglutide-related regulatory issue, commercial benefits from b-abatacept expected from the fourth quarter of this year and a higher base in FY26, we expect earnings to decline in FY27 and then revive FY28 onwards," the brokerage note said.Dr. Reddy's first quarter profitability was hit by a ₹240 crore Semaglutide API provision. However, revenue growth was weaker than expectations due to the US business, which was affected due to the lower Revlimid generic sales from last year. Revenue from the North America business fell 35% from last year to ₹2,204.8 crore. The US business contributes to 27% of the company's topline.The company's India business emerged as an outperformer, growing 17% during the quarter, higher than estimates of 13% to 14%.The brokerage has a "hold" rating on the stock with a price target of ₹1,240. It expects the Semaglutide issues to normalize by November of this year but has lowered its revenue estimates for this financial year expecting a sales loss of 3 million to 4 million pens.CLSA has also moderated its margin estimates for the next three financial years.JPMorgan is "underweight" on Dr. Reddy's with a price target of ₹1,100.It remains bearish on the stock as core profitability weakness persists despite the branded business contributing to over 52% of revenue, reflecting a structurally low margin profile."Any further delays or a slower ramp-up pose earnings risk as the Semaglutide opportunity in Canada and Abtacept together account for over 20% of its financial year 2028-2029 earnings.Excluding these contributions, JPMorgan finds the base business of Dr. Reddy's to be expensive at 32 times and 30 times its estimated Earnings Per Share (EPS) for financial year 2027 and 2028 respectively.The brokerage is also having an "underperform" rating on the stock with a price target of ₹1,040.Jefferies has cut Dr. Reddy's financial year 2027-2029 earnings estimates by 1% to 15% on delays in the Semaglutide launch in Canada.It went on to add that a slower uptake in Semaglutide and delays in the bAbatacept also pose downside risks to estimates.Earlier this month, Dr. Reddy's had informed the exchanges that certain batches of Semaglutide were found to be out of specification due to an API-related issue in the product. The stock, as a result, had declined 6% on July 9.The management though, does not see any further provisions on the Semaglutide issue and said that it is working on identifying the root cause of the same.Pharma stocks also sold-off on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said that pharma generics will have zero tariffs over the next two years but will have a 100% tariff starting August 2028, which will then be raised to 200% starting August 2029.In a post-earnings interaction with CNBC-TV18, the management of Dr. Reddy's said that it is not practical to move manufacturing operations to the US and they will await more clarity on the subject as this is just a social media post currently and not official guidelines.As many as 41 analysts have coverage on Dr. Reddy's, of which 16 have a "buy" recommendation, 10 say "hold", and 15 have a "sell" rating on the stock.Shares of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories had ended 2% lower on Wednesday at ₹1,182.8. In the 16 trading sessions so far in July, the stock has gained in only 12 of those.