Euronext Brussels: two setbacks and a short buying opportunity
Lower Chinese growth is also affecting European stock markets. Umicore is tempering its profit forecast, which is not well received. The postponement for Bimzelx in the US cannot hurt UCB.
The growth of the Chinese economy has slowed in the third quarter. Growth went from 7.9 percent in the second quarter to 4.9 percent in the July-September period. It lower than growth figures worldwide on the stock exchanges. In Europe, where the Euro Stoxx 50 drops 0.9 percent around 12.30 pm, the luxury goods groups – with China as the most important sales market – are the top of Jut.
At the opening bell, the loss of the Bel20 was greater than the European means, but it is now a lot smaller. The Brussels indicator drops 0.4 percent to 4,188 points. We find the main players in the recording: UCB and Umicore.
announced on Saturday that the American pharmaceutical watchdog FDA has not yet given the green light for the launch of UCB‘s psoriasis drug Bimzelx – perhaps still better known in investor circles by its scientific name bimekizumab.
The FDA has not yet completed its investigation. Due to travel restrictions, it was not possible to visit the production site in Europe. UCB
This is one reason for the deferred approval cites.
Nevertheless, a setback for UCB, especially as Bimzelx could become the biggest blockbuster in the history of the pharmaceutical company. Analysts expect peak sales of more than 2.5 billion euros by 2030.
Analysts remain calm. There is no reason to believe that this is an indication that the FDA will not sell ‘bime’ as a psoriasis remedy in the coming months, it says at the price of KBC Securities (buy, target 120 euros).
Kepler Cheuvreux (buy, price target 105 euros) thinks the delay in approval could be something like 4 to 5 months. “This makes little difference to UCB’s or bime’s negative value, but could lead to small intrusions on earnings expectations for 2022.” The analyst points out that most of the peak sales of bimekizumab must come from other conditions. Phase 3 results for this are expected around the end of the year and, Kepler Cheuvreux believes, will be good. “We will be buying UCB today in light of the results coming in the coming weeks.”
Jefferies (buy, price target 130 euros) is also on that line: ‘Price weakness could be a buying opportunity’. Unfortunately, the buying opportunity this morning doesn’t last long. UCB even dipped 3 percent lower, but was already halfway back after 10 minutes and almost recovered after 20 minutes. The share even gains 1.9 percent to 99.98 euros and is crowned the best Bel20er.
Lower car production
Umicore
quite a bit of jerk. The materials technology group issued a profit warning before the stock market. Although this is not dramatic, the share falls 4 percent to 50.68 euros.
Umicore now expects an adjusted operating profit (EBIT) for the full year 2021 to reach 1 billion euros. So far, the company has expected an adjusted operating profit of slightly 1 billion euros. The reason for the adjustment is twofold: the prices of precious metals – especially rhodium – are somewhat lower impact of the simple smaller and semiconductors on car production is greater than expected.
KBC Securities analyst Wim Hoste has taken into account lower precious metal prices, but has now also revised his expectations for catalysts and battery materials. His new profit forecast is 983 million euros, which would still be 83 percent more than in 2020. He maintains his ‘buy up’ rating and price target of 54 euros.
The main reasons for the price pressure is not the price warning itself, but facts that the start of the press releases production of the cathode materials plant in Nysa has been postponed by six months, until the second quarter of 2022. The delay is due to ‘adjustments in the production and qualification schedules of electric vehicles due to the shortage of semiconductors’.
Leon Van Rompay
Makes a nice jump Mithra
. The Liège specialist in medicines for women is up 3.8 percent to 19.54 euros. The appointment of Leon Van Rompay as CEO has been confirmed, a position he has held on an interim basis since February.
He then replaced François Fornieri who had stepped aside because he was involved in lawsuits. Fornieri will not return as manager but will remain a shareholder and will provide strategic advice to the management of Mithra.
Leon Van Rompay, now 71, has a long experience in the pharmaceutical world and impresses with his undiminished dynamism. His son Stijn is the CEO of another pharmaceutical company, also listed Hyloris.