The Nifty Pharma index emerged as the top-performing sector on the NSE on June 5, advancing over 1% to hover around 21,586.80. This marked the second consecutive session of gains for the pharma sector, outperforming broader market indices where the Sensex rose 0.4% to 81,317 and Nifty 50 increased by 0.4% to 24,716.
Highlights:
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Nifty Pharma index leads sectoral gains, up 1%.
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Sensex and Nifty 50 up by 0.4%.
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Pharma sector’s rally driven by stock-specific triggers and brokerage upgrades.
Pharma Stocks See Strong Gains on Positive Triggers
Dr Reddy’s Laboratories shares surged nearly 3% to Rs 1,288.60 following its strategic partnership with Alvotech to co-develop a biosimilar of Keytruda, a leading immunotherapy drug used in cancer treatment. Additionally, LIC’s announcement to increase its stake in Dr Reddy’s Labs to over 8.2% provided further buying interest.
Laurus Labs and Glenmark Pharma also climbed over 3% each, trading at Rs 642 and Rs 1,560 apiece, respectively. Other notable movers included Zydus Lifesciences (+2.4%) and Lupin (+1.7%), buoyed by positive legal developments in the Myrbetriq generic case, as highlighted by Axis Capital.
Highlights:
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Dr Reddy’s up ~3% on biosimilar collaboration and LIC stake increase.
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Laurus Labs and Glenmark Pharma gain over 3%.
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Zydus Lifesciences and Lupin benefit from favorable legal updates.
Broader Pharma Space Shows Mixed but Mostly Positive Movement
Shares of Aurobindo Pharma, Ajanta Pharma, Abbott India rose over 1%, while Cipla, Natco Pharma, Granules India, Mankind Pharma, Sun Pharma, Torrent Pharma, Alkem Labs, and Gland Pharma posted marginal gains. However, Biocon and a few others traded lower amid some sectoral volatility.
Highlights:
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Multiple pharma stocks trading in green with modest gains.
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Biocon and select others see minor losses.
Brokerage Reports Signal Strong Long-Term Outlook for Pharma Sector
Axis Securities highlighted robust pharma industry performance in Q4 FY25, with strong product pipelines in biosimilars, GLP-1, peptides, and chronic therapies expected to drive growth and margin improvement in FY26 and beyond. The brokerage also noted that potential US tariff impacts might cause short-term volatility but emphasized India’s structural cost advantages and tariff pass-through protections.
Axis Securities named Lupin and Aurobindo Pharma as top sector picks with ‘Buy’ ratings and significant upside targets of Rs 2,500 (29% potential gain) and Rs 1,500 (32% potential gain), respectively.
JM Financial expects the US generics sub-segment to remain flat in H1 FY26 but cited confidence among managements to outperform the Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM). JM Financial maintained ‘Buy’ calls on key names including Aurobindo Pharma, Biocon, Dr Reddy’s, IPCA, JP Pharma, Sun Pharma, and Piramal Pharma, while assigning ‘Hold’ ratings to Zydus Lifesciences, Torrent Pharma, Lupin, and Cipla.
Highlights:
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Strong pharma product pipeline and margin improvement anticipated.
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Potential US tariff impacts viewed as short-term risk with protective mechanisms.
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Lupin and Aurobindo Pharma top picks with significant upside targets.
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JM Financial bullish on key pharma names, cautious on some others.
