Citi has released a research report stating that WUXI APPTEC (02359) maintains a solid market leadership position in its core business areas, and the firm reiterates its "Buy" rating on the stock with a target price of HK$142. The report notes that the company's Co-CEO Minzhang Chen delivered a speech at a U.S. healthcare conference, which was followed by a Q&A session with Co-CEO Qing Yang and CFO Ming Shi; the management provided an outlook for 2026, anticipating that the company's organic growth for the year will be at least comparable to that of 2025 (report metrics indicate a year-on-year increase of 16%, with continuing operations growing 21.4% year-on-year). The CFO also projected that future profit margins will improve as the company continues to optimize its manufacturing processes, enhance capacity utilization, and increase operational efficiency; the divestiture of certain business segments is also expected to contribute positively. The report highlighted the robust growth of the TIDES (oligonucleotide and peptide) business, with management pointing out that TIDES revenue surged by over 90% year-on-year in 2025. The company completed the expansion of its solid-phase peptide production capacity to 10,000 liters in the third quarter of 2025 and plans further capacity increases in 2026. Regarding GLP-1 projects, as of the third quarter of 2025, WUXI APPTEC holds a 16% market share in global clinical-stage innovative drug projects, and the company is currently advancing 24 GLP-1 programs.
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