BackWockhardt stock surges 18% on stake sale rumours
Shares of Wockhardt closed at `720, up 9.45%, on the BSE, after rising as much as 18.36% to `778.65 in intraday trading
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Mumbai: Shares of drug maker Wockhardt Ltd surged in intraday trading on Friday on the BSE on speculation of a possible stake sale by the company. Friday’s stock surge was the highest since 2 April and the scrip was also the best performer on the BSE mid-cap index.
Shares of Wockhardt closed at ₹ 720, up 9.45%, on the BSE, after rising as much as 18.36% to ₹ 778.65 in intraday trading. The benchmark index, Sensex, lost 0,7% to 26,088.89 points and the BSE Healthcare Index gained 1.83% to close at 12,129.24 points.
According to industry people familiar with the company, it has been in talks with a couple of foreign generic drug makers including Mylan Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, who had shown interest in buying the domestic business of Wockhardt.
Bloomberg quoted brokerage Kejriwal Research and Investment Services Pvt. Ltd in a Friday report as saying it advised investors to avoid the stock as there was too much volatility.
“Wockhardt is rising on speculation of a stake sale," Bloomberg quoted Arun Kejriwal, director at Kejriwal Research and Investment, as saying.
Two Wockhardt factories have had an export ban imposed on them by the US drug regulator for failing to comply with required manufacturing standards. The US Food and Drug Administration has also made negative observations about quality compliance at Wockhardt’s US factory.
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