Wockhardt up 5% as Khorakiwala Holdings release pledge

Moneycontrol Bureau

Wockhardt shares are locked at 5 percent upper circuit at Rs 462.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange Friday, continuing its upward journey for the fourth consecutive session. Promoter Khorakiwala Holdings & Investments released pledge on its 6.97 crore equity shares (63.62 percent) on Wednesday. Now only 4.4 lakh shares or 0.4 percent equity of Habil F Khorakiwala is pledged. Promoters hold 73.54 percent stake in the company as of June 2013. Meanwhile, Citi has a buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 865. The brokerage house expects the Chikalthana plant, under USFDA scanner now, to bear more heavily in the near term, given that it accounts for 25 percent of revenues. Regulatory compliance remains the key to medium-term stock outlook, Citi adds. Earlier Wockhardt had received an import alert from US FDA on its manufacturing plant at Waluj near Aurangabad in May and related warning letter in July. Also UK's drug regulator regulator MHRA in July issued an alert on the same plant. There were pending buy orders of 12,988 shares, with no sellers available. Trading volumes increased 161 percent to 7,70,720 shares as compared to its five-day average of 2,95,545 shares.