Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 4% on the BSE to hit a five-month high of Rs 954.25 in intraday trade on Thursday. Shares of the country’s largest drugmaker have risen 7% over the past two days after the company said it completed its acquisition of Uractiv’s portfolio from Romania’s Fiterman Pharma on September 27, 2022.

Sun Pharma has been trading at the highest level since April 29, 2022. It was quoted near a 52-week high of Rs 966.90 on April 24. The stock has relatively outperformed most pharmaceutical stocks and the market. It has surged 13% over the past three months, while the S&P BSE Sensex has risen 7%. The stock has surged 17% over the past year, while the benchmark index has lost 4%.

By 2026, the global pharmaceutical market is expected to reach approximately $1.8 trillion, with a compound growth rate of approximately 3-6%. Sun Pharma chairman Israel Makov said at the company’s 30th annual general meeting that the main growth drivers would be increased drug spending in emerging markets and the continued launch of high-end speciality innovative products.

By 2026, the Indian pharmaceutical market is expected to reach $370-4.1 billion growing at a CAGR of 8-11%. Changes in demographics and lifestyles, rising per capita income, rising incidence of chronic diseases, access to modern medicines and improved health insurance coverage will be the main drivers of this growth, Israel Markov said.

Sun Pharma said in its FY22 annual report that all its businesses are in a state of growth, and the company expects FY23 consolidated revenue growth to be in the high single digits to low double digits.

“The long-term high contribution from its domestic portfolio should help Sun Pharma outpace the IPM growth rate. It is the only Indian pharma company with a large commercialized speciality portfolio in the US and could add Rs 5-7 per share in the next two years. “Sun Pharma could see structural growth and be relatively immune to an unfavourable price erosion scenario in the US Buy with a price target of Rs 1,034, based on 25x FY24E EPS,” brokerage firm Systematix Shares and Stocks (India) indicated in the Pharmaceutical Industry Update.