The latest Market Talks covering the Health Care sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0844 ET - Amplifon's acquisition of Danish group GN Store Nord's hearing-aid business will end the Italian company's unique position as a retail-only group and hurt its stock, Jefferies analysts write. This change will outweigh positive synergies created by a deal that will add manufacturing to Amplifon's hearing-aid business, they say. Manufacturing is riskier than retail, given the short product cycles common to it, they say. All-time low valuations across the hearing-aid sector are also not enough to support the stock, they add. Amplifon shares tumble 12%, extending losses of over 14% on Monday. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0341 ET - Sartorius's new midterm targets will be taken well by investors and trigger a strong share reaction, even if they seem unlikely to move consensus expectations meaningfully, analysts at RBC Capital Markets say in a research note. The German provider of laboratory equipment and services is targeting organic sales growth of 8% to 11% a year excluding currency movements from 2027 onward, with an improvement in its underlying Ebitda margin of 50 to 75 basis points annually. For its bioprocess solutions division, in which Sartorius aims to focus, the company targets top-line growth of 9% to 12% a year. This compares with consensus expectations of about 10% and with investors' expectations of 9% to 11%, according to RBC. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0315 ET - Celltrion could post strong earnings growth in 2026, driven by solid revenue contributions from a newly acquired plant in the U.S., DB Securities's Myoung-Sun Lee says. The South Korean biosimilar company's operating profit could jump 42% to 1.657 trillion won, with revenue up 26%, this year, the DB analyst writes in a note. The biologics facility in Branchburg, N.J., which Celltrion recently acquired from Eli Lilly, is set to generate a total of 680 billion won in revenue over three years starting in 2Q of 2026, Lee says. He views Celltrion as the most investor-friendly among local peers, citing a plan to cancel 9.1 million treasury shares valued at 1.927 trillion won. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
0223 ET - Praram 9 Hospital'searnings growth is likely outperforming the sector's average, Thanachart Securities' Siriporn Arunothai says in a report. Drivers include robust growth of foreign patient flows and high-intensity healthcare, the analyst says. The Thailand hospital has been active in attracting Middle Eastern patients, says the brokerage, which projects the foreign-patient segment's revenue contribution to increase to 31% by 2028 from 26% in 2025. However, the brokerage trims its 2026-2028 earnings estimates for the company by 1%-3% to partly reflect the two-month impact from the Middle East conflict. It lowers the stock's target price to THB24.00 from THB26.00 with an unchanged buy rating. Shares are 0.6% lower at THB16.90. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
2019 ET - Cochlear's bull at Jefferies remains confident in the underlying strength of the hearing-implant maker despite the earnings headwind of a stronger Australian dollar. Analyst David Stanton lowers his EPS forecast for the current fiscal year by 7%--and for fiscal 2027 by 9%--citing the recent strengthening of the local currency against the U.S. dollar and Euro, as well as a lower comparable earnings multiple. Stanton says Cochlear remains a quality business. Pointing to feedback from hearing-industry professionals, Stanton adds that Cochlear's new Nexa implant will drive market-share gains over at least the medium term. Jefferies lowers its target price by 6.25% to A$285.00 and keeps a buy rating on the stock, which is flat at A$173.10. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 17, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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