The launch of a generic version of a narcolepsy medicine and news that it had bagged an exclusive licensing agreement with a South Korean peer drove shares in Hikma to a five-month high.
The FTSE 250 drugs group will have 180 days of marketing exclusively for its authorised version of Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ Xyrem narcolepsy treatment. In 2021, Jazz generated net sales of $1.3 billion from sales of Xyrem.
Separately, Hikma said it had signed an agreement with Celltrion Healthcare under which the South Korean biopharma company will develop, manufacture and supply Vegzelma, an anti-cancer drug, while Hikma will be responsible for commercialising the product in the Middle East and north Africa.
The news was revealed alongside a bullish broker note from JP Morgan, whose analysts believe the strong prospects for Hikma’s injectables and branded divisions are now better appreciated. Thanks to its strong growth prospects, the analysts lifted their “neutral” recommendation to “overweight”. Hikma shares rose 69p, or 4.5 per cent, to £16.21.
London’s wider markets started the year with a bang as investors brushed aside concerns about a looming recession, high inflation and rising interest rates. Bullish sentiment pushed the FTSE 100, which ended 2022 almost 1 per cent higher than where it had started the year, up by 102.35 points, or 1.4 per cent, to reach a one-month high of 7,554.09.
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Weakness in the pound also helped the index, whose constituents include global companies generating revenue in foreign currencies. However, markets had a strong day across Europe. The Dax in Frankfurt rose by 0.8 per cent, France’s CAC 40 added 0.4 per cent and the Spanish Ibex 35 improved by 0.4 per cent. In London, the FTSE 250 climbed 281.34 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 19,134.34.
Leading the charge on the senior index was Rolls-Royce, the engine maker, which rose 5¾p, or 6.1 per cent, to almost 99p on the back of an upgrade from Jefferies. International Consolidated Airlines Group, the British Airways owner, added 5p, or 4.1 per cent, to 128¾p after Citi repeated its “buy” recommendation. Ocado improved 31¾p, or 5.2 per cent, to 648½p; Barratt Developments rose 17½p, or 4.4 per cent, to 414½p; and Entain added 29p, or 2.2 per cent, to £13.50½. Despite oil prices dipping, Shell advanced 41p, or 1.8 per cent, to £23.67 and BP rose 8½p, or 1.8 per cent, to 483½p.
Elsewhere, Ferrexpo recovered 5½p, or 3.6 per cent, to reach 162¾p after the iron ore producer said it had received a resignation letter from Kostyantin Zhevago, its former boss who was detained last week in France on suspicion of money laundering.
SSE failed to join the rally as falling gas prices, on top of Jefferies warning that further upgrades are less clear, caused the energy group to dip 48½p, or 2.8 per cent, to £16.63½. Centrica, the British Gas owner, fell 4½p, or 4.8 per cent, to 92p and Drax lost 31½p, or 4.5 per cent, to 671½p.
Victorian Plumbing won over investors after the online bathroom retailer said it had signed a 20-year lease for a 544,000 sq ft distribution centre in Lancashire to “support the group’s strategic expansion”. The shares rose 4¾p, or 6.2 per cent, to 81¾p, their highest since February.
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Zenith Energy, an oil and gas minnow, rose after it revealed that Zenith Energy Netherlands, in which it holds a 49 per cent interest, has agreed to buy OMV Yemen, one of Yemen’s largest oil producers, for $21.6 million. The shares closed up nearly ¼p, or 18.8 per cent, at 1p.
Bidstack in damages demand
The breakdown of what was once hailed as a “landmark” commercial partnership has prompted a demand for damages from Bidstack (Tom Saunders writes).
The seller of targeted advertising space within computer games has been locked in a dispute with Azerion, a digital entertainments platform, since October, when Azerion allegedly queried a bill allocated to it by Bidstack.
Azerion unilaterally terminated the agreement between the two firms at the end of last year and Bidstack said yesterday that it intended to claim damages for unlawful termination. The announcement rocked confidence in the group and its shares tumbled by 27 per cent, or ¾p, to 2p.
When the partnership was revealed in December 2021, Bidstack called it “one of the industry’s largest programmatic in-game advertising deals”, which the company believed would increase its global sales footprint “exponentially”. The deal was supposed to last two years and would have made Azerion, which provides a platform to automate the purchase and sale of digital advertising for media buyers, the sole external reseller for Bidstack.
Wall Street report
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Indices recovered from a gloomy start, one weighed down by declines in Apple and Tesla shares, to end the first trading session of 2023 only slightly off, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling only 10.88 points, 0.03 per cent, to 33,136.37.
