JUNSHI BIO Nears Profitability, Yet Secondary Market Remains Skeptical: Can It Achieve Critical Valuation Rebound?

Stock News04-29

On April 27, JUNSHI BIO (01877) officially released its Q1 2026 financial report. The report conveyed a clear signal of approaching profitability: during the reporting period, the company's net profit attributable to shareholders narrowed significantly by 91.24% year-over-year. After excluding the impact of share-based payments, the company achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 43.4403 million yuan. In recent years, the "profitability dilemma" has been a persistent challenge for JUNSHI BIO, profoundly impacting its performance in the secondary market. In March of this year, JUNSHI BIO was removed from the constituent list of the A-share STAR 50 Index, partly because its current share price has significantly decreased compared to the historical high of 220.4 yuan per share on its first day of trading in 2020. In the Hong Kong market, after reaching a阶段性 high of HK$38.64 last September, JUNSHI BIO's share price began a downward trend lasting nearly half a year, falling to an intraday low of HK$17.58 on March 4 this year, with a price fluctuation range of 54.50% during this period. The continuous volatility in JUNSHI BIO's A+H share prices is closely related to its financial performance in recent years, characterized by increasing revenue without corresponding profit growth and operating cash flow remaining in a prolonged negative state.

Now, the Q1 2026 report provides a clear profit expectation, potentially serving as a crucial signal for a reversal in market sentiment. On the day following the Q1 report disclosure, JUNSHI BIO's Hong Kong share price closed up 4.45%, showing signs of stabilization and rebound. Whether the share price can break through previous highs remains a key question. Between March and April this year, JUNSHI BIO's share price rose over 60%, significantly outperforming the Hang Seng Healthcare Index. From a news perspective, one direct factor supporting the share price rebound was share purchases by company executives. During this period, Chairman Xiong Jun accumulated purchases of 3.26 million shares, totaling 101 million yuan, significantly boosting market confidence and demonstrating management's optimism about the company's long-term development. Secondly, clinical data for the company's PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody and EGFR/HER3 bispecific antibody ADC were scheduled for release at the AACR annual meeting, drawing widespread attention to the potential of its bispecific combination therapy and prompting positive investor expectations and early positioning.

However, beyond news-driven support, the exchange of funds and share holdings both on and off the market was also a significant reason for the sustained rebound in JUNSHI BIO's share price. As mentioned, after reaching the阶段性 high of HK$38.64 last September, the share price began a sustained downtrend, falling to the HK$17.58 low on March 4. During this sharp decline, many holders were left with positions held at a loss. Analysis of the share holding distribution showed that just before the rebound began in March, the proportion of profitable holdings was only 0.51%. A low-price concentration of holdings formed around HK$23.80, well below the average holding cost of HK$25.24, with many holdings still located above HK$28.58. However, as the rebound initiated on March 4 progressed, holders with high-cost positions continuously sold at a loss. For example, by April 1, after nearly a month of upward price movement, the average holding cost had decreased to HK$23.00, and a new concentration of holdings was forming nearby. By this point, the high-cost, loss-making holdings previously above HK$28 had been almost entirely cleared, significantly reducing the resistance for major funds to drive the price higher, becoming a crucial factor for the subsequent continued share price increase.

Since the positive expectations for the AACR meeting began boosting the share price even before the event, it was natural that when the conference took place, it became a moment for on-market funds to realize those gains. It was observed that on April 20, during the AACR meeting, JUNSHI BIO's Hong Kong share price began to decline after reaching HK$30.80 and experienced a "five consecutive negative sessions" trend, influenced by a shareholder reduction announcement. However, from a technical perspective, this recent period of decline to stabilization occurred relatively quickly. The release of the Q1 financial report undoubtedly provided important support for market sentiment. Whether the company's share price can use the positive financial results to break through previous highs is undoubtedly something investors will watch closely.

Could a major Business Development (BD) deal be the key to accelerating the rebound? Both the 2025 annual report and the Q1 2026 report demonstrate the foundational role of Toripalimab in JUNSHI BIO's performance. In 2025, the company achieved annual operating revenue of 2.498 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28%. The corresponding net loss attributable to shareholders was 841 million yuan, narrowing significantly by approximately 34% compared to the previous year. This was primarily due to the continued sales growth of the core product Toripalimab in the domestic market and breakthroughs in its internationalization; the drug's domestic sales reached 2.068 billion yuan during the period, a 38% increase year-on-year. In Q1 2026, JUNSHI BIO achieved revenue of 726 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45.09% and a sequential increase of approximately 5%. The net loss attributable to shareholders for the quarter narrowed significantly by 91.24% year-on-year. Toripalimab's sales revenue in the quarter was 623 million yuan, compared to 447 million yuan in the same period of 2025, an increase of nearly 40%.

From these two financial reports, it is evident that during the continued sales expansion of Toripalimab, JUNSHI BIO has achieved clear value realization and demonstrates a definite profit outlook. This performance aligns with the current investment focus on innovative biopharmaceutical companies in both the A and H share markets. However, for the company's valuation, deep cultivation of a major product can only "maintain the fort" rather than "expand the territory." Although the market has frequently witnessed positive BD news driving share prices, a major BD deal remains a critical path for demonstrating the realization of a company's innovative value, and this holds true for JUNSHI BIO, which is in urgent need of valuation repair. Within the company's current innovative pipeline, the assets with potential for major BD value and likely to be realized in the near future are undoubtedly the PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody JS207 and the EGFR/HER3 bispecific antibody ADC JS212, which were recently presented at the AACR annual meeting.

For JS207, JUNSHI BIO presented data from two Phase II clinical studies at the conference: one for JS207 combined with chemotherapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), and another for JS207 combined with JS007 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Phase II study of JS207 combined with JS007 as a first-line treatment for advanced HCC was reporting preliminary results for the first time. This is also the first study to report positive clinical benefits of an anti-PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody combined with an anti-CTLA-4 therapy in the first-line treatment of advanced liver cancer. The preliminary results indicated that JS207 combined with JS007 demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity and tolerability in first-line advanced HCC treatment (among 22 efficacy-evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) reached 45.5%, and the disease control rate (DCR) reached 86.4%), providing strong preliminary evidence for the synergistic "dual immunotherapy plus anti-angiogenesis" strategy targeting three pathways. Such performance positions JS207 as a potential premium asset on the global BD transaction market.

However, the window for a major BD deal for this promising asset may not be long. To date, there are over 40 PD-(L)1/VEGF bispecific antibody programs globally, with more than 20 in China alone. Furthermore, most multinational corporations (MNCs) have already acquired their PD-1/VEGF bispecific candidates from domestic biotech companies, indicating intensifying market competition. With the disclosure of key clinical data for JS207, the drug clearly meets the criteria for a major BD deal, entering a critical time window for such negotiations. The same applies to the other bispecific ADC, JS212. For JUNSHI BIO, achieving a new round of valuation repair and reaching new share price highs might hinge precisely on securing a major BD deal.

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