RBC Capital Markets starts Hikma at 'outperform'

RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of Hikma Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday at ‘outperform’ with a 1,750p price target.

The bank noted that Hikma shares have dropped 31% year-to-date, largely on deteriorating conditions for the generics unit.

However, it said the larger branded and injectables divisions are performing well and should deliver high-single-digit growth in the medium term.

"Looking to 2023, we believe the generics division has sufficient product launch momentum to return to growth, while Hikma is set to appoint a new CEO, removing another point of uncertainty," it said.

"This should drive a re-rating of Hikma's 9.7x forward price-to-earnings to at least 10.4x, as suggested by our sum-of-the-parts."

At 1045 GMT, the shares were up 0.5% at 1,522p.