Portfolio: 3 BIGGEST Pharma Cos. to Keep a Tab on!

The pharma sector is considered to be a defensive one and investors keep some of the strong companies from this sector in their portfolios for the diversification purpose. This is not an action-packed sector but delivers steady growth over the long haul.

In case you are looking for some blue-chip pharma stocks, here are the 3 biggest pharma companies, as per their revenues in FY23.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NS:) is the biggest pharma company in India, having a market capitalization of INR 2,36,982.31 crores and trading at a P/E ratio of 27.81. It also clocked a record-high revenue of INR 44,520.2 crores in FY23, which was the highest revenue by any listed-pharma company in the country.

The net income was reported at INR 8,521.48 crores, translating into a profit margin of 19.14%, the highest margin since FY17. FIIs have consistently been increasing their stake, notching it up from 13% in December 2021 to 16.89% in March 2023. The stock has been an outperformer in the last 12 months, delivering a return of 16.2%, compared to return of 3.9%.

Dr Reddys Laboratories Limited

Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd (NS:) is not the second-largest pharma co. in terms of market cap, but it is so when FY23 revenue is concerned. This INR 75,635.38 crores big drug manufacturer clocked a revenue of INR 25,762.2 crores, a 16.5% YoY jump, while net profit more than doubled to INR 4,507.3 crores.

This translated into a profit margin of 17.5%, the highest since FY15, at least. FIIs are holding a massive stake of 38.55% which could be due to its valuation, as the current P/E ratio is just 16.78, compared to the sectors average of 33.94.

Aurobindo Pharma Limited

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (NS:) is engaged in producing oral and injectable generic formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), having a market capitalization of INR 38,595 crores. It clocked a revenue of INR 25,145.97 crores which was the third-highest revenue in this sector in FY23.

However, the company‘s profit margins of 7.67% were subdued and lowest in the last few years. Despite this, the stock was able to attract some FIIs’ interest this quarter, as they ramped up their stake from 22.32% in December 2022 to 23.03% in March 2023. It has also been a good performer in the last 12 months, delivering a sector-beating return of 26.7%.