Pharmaniaga hits limit up, other healthcare stocks spike to all-time highs
KUALA LUMPUR: Pharmaniaga Bhd’s share price hit limit up yesterday, and other pharmaceutical stocks spike to record highs as investors continue to pin their hopes on a Covid-19 vaccine to curb the pandemic.
Pharmaniaga hit limit up when its share price climbed RM1.05 or 30 per cent to RM4.55, which was also its closing price.
Apex Healthcare Bhd, Duopharma Biotech Bhd and Kotra Industries Bhd saw all-time highs.
The companies, led by Pharmaniaga, became Bursa’s top four gainers yesterday.
Duopharma closed 68 sen, or 29.82 per cent, higher to RM2.96, Apex Healthcare ended 91 sen higher, or 29.74 per cent, to RM3.97, and Kotra gained 82 sen or 29.82 per cent to RM3.57.
Bank Islam economist Adam Mohamed Rahim said on sectoral basis, Bursa’s healthcare index would remain to lead gainers in the coming months.
He said while share prices of glove makers had dropped lately, this would be offset by the gains in pharmaceutical players if further positive news flow on the Covid-19 vaccine comes about.
“The reason being is that companies such as Pharmaniaga and Duopharma are clear beneficiaries of this development as they have been tasked by the government to undertake the Covid-19 packaging process once the vaccine is fully developed,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
On July 14, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said government-linked companies Pharmaniaga and Duopharma had been identified to do the “fill and finish” process for the Covid-19 vaccine once it is available.
Fill and finish refers to the bottling and packaging aspects of a vaccine when it has been developed.
“The two companies have told the government that they are willing to take stock production and prioritise it for the Covid-19 vaccine when it is available,” Khairy told a press conference at Parliament building here.
On Wednesday, Bursa’s healthcare index rose 280.82 points, or 7.82 per cent, to close at 3,869.91 points.
Globally, it was reported yesterday that Asian shares hit a five-month high and European equity market futures extended gains as hopes that a vaccine against the Covid-19 disease might be ready by year-end supported riskier assets, following promising early data from trials of three potential vaccines.
A wire service said an experimental coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Britain’s University of Oxford was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed, keeping alive the hope it could be in use by the end of the year.
Source: NST