Is their more juice left in this large-cap pharma stock after doubling in 1 year?

The Lupin stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 1701.00 on BSE on Thursday (February 8, 2024) after the drugmaker major reported its above Zee Business research estimate for the December quarter. 

The stock of the company that beat all Zee research parameters in its third-quarter results has been one of the shining large-cap stocks in the last one year with a rise of 107.17 per cent from Rs 775.25 on February 8, 2023, to Rs 1606.10 today. 

Year-to-date, the stock has jumped by 22.81 per cent, from Rs 1307.70 on January 1.

Lupin Q3 results

In its Q3 results on Wednesday, the company reported four times jump in its consolidated profit after tax, which skyrocketed to Rs 613 crore in the December quarter compared to Rs 153 crore year-on-Year (YoY), against Zee Business research estimates of Rs 427 crore.

Lupin's revenue from operations jumped by 20 per cent to Rs 5197 crore in the third quarter against Rs 4322 crore Year-on-Year (YoY), compared to estimates of Rs 4868 crore.

The firm's EBITDA for the third quarter was Rs 1037 crore in the quarter under review against Rs 532 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, which translated into a leap of 95 per cent.

It comfortably beat analysts' estimates of Rs 857 crore.

The company's gross margins soared to 20 per cent in the December quarter from 12.3 per cent YoY compared to analyst estimates of 17.6 per cent.

The company's revenue from the Americas saw a rise of 24 per cent, the India revenue was up by 13 per cent, and growth markets revenue was higher by 13 per cent in the December quarter.

Macquarie maintains 'outperform'

After impressive returns, brokerage Macquarie has maintained an 'outperform' rating on the pharma company. It has given a target of Rs 1530 for the stock.

In its commentary on Lupin's third-quarter results, Macquarie writes that the company has given all-round performance in its Q3 as it has beaten its estimates in terms of revenue, EBITDA, profit PAT by 5 per cent, 23 per cent, and 55 percent, respectively.