Cipla shares edge higher on large exchange volumes, hopes of better sales

Cipla has been in the news recently after it signed a perpetual license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG to manufacture and market the Galvus range for the treatment of type 2 diabetes on April 10.

Shares of pharmaceutical major, Cipla edged 1.5 percent higher in early trade on April 12 after a large deal involving the exchange of around 12.56 lakh shares (0.16 percent stake) of the company took place on the bourses today. That apart, hopes of improved sales prospects on the back of a rise in COVID-19 cases also aided sentiment.

The deal was executed at an average of Rs 915 per share, taking the total deal value to Rs 114.96 crore. The buyers and sellers involved in the trade, however, could not be identified immediately.

At 09.59 am, shares of Cipla were trading around one percent higher at Rs 914.15 on the National Stock Exchange. Post the large deal, the stock had climbed to an intraday high of Rs 920.90.

16 lakh shares exchanged hands on the bourses so far, as against the one-month daily traded average of eight lakh shares.

As per the company's shareholding data as of the end of the December quarter, SBI Arbitrage Opportunities Fund, UTI, HDFC Mutual Fund, GQG Partners Emerging Market Fund, Government of Singapore, LIC, Government Pension Fund Global and NPS Trust are the major institutional players holding stake in the pharmaceutical major.

The Mumbai-based company has been in the news recently after it signed a perpetual license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG to manufacture and market the Galvus range for the treatment of type 2 diabetes on Monday.

The drug firm stated that this agreement is anticipated to strengthen Cipla's position in the diabetes category in India. According to the drugmaker, Galvus is among the prominent brands in the oral diabetic medication category and is one of the top brands in the Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP4) space.