Has the "Spring" Arrived for Pharmaceutical Stocks? Wuxi AppTec Surges Over 9% as Multiple Institutions Bet on Industry Turning Point

Cailian Press, March 24 (Editor: Hu Jiarong) The Hong Kong stock market’s pharmaceutical sector experienced a significant rebound. As of the time of writing, WuXi AppTec (02359.HK) rose 9.54%, Kelai Ying (06821.HK) increased 3.32%, WuXi Biologics (02269.HK) gained 3.02%, and Kanglong Chemical (03759.HK) went up 2.61%.

The rebound in pharmaceutical stocks is related to industry optimism from multiple sources.

BOCOM International pointed out that, amid recovering demand and reshaping competitive landscapes, the pharmaceutical industry will enter a new phase of “scale expansion and survival of the fittest.” They also mentioned that the globalization of innovative drugs is driving industry expansion and structural upgrades, with the trend of leading companies consolidating accelerating. AI drug development is expected to reach a turning point by 2026.

Guosen Securities emphasized that domestic innovative drug clinical development is progressing smoothly, with several excellent clinical data released at recent academic conferences. They recommend focusing on major events like ASCO in Q2. Since Q1 2026, multiple international cooperation agreements based on technological platforms have been signed, confirming that China’s innovative drugs’ efficiency and cost advantages continue to be recognized by multinational pharmaceutical companies.

This brokerage believes that, with short-term performance realization and long-term global competitiveness, the CXO sector remains the strongest mainline for current pharmaceutical investments. From a R&D perspective, improved international investment and financing environments are driving a moderate recovery in global pharmaceutical R&D, while active domestic innovative drug R&D directly boosts preclinical demand and the rapid growth of clinical approval numbers.

Ping An Securities recently pointed out that the AACR conference, held in San Diego from April 17 to 22, 2026, is a global indicator of cancer research. At that time, many domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies will disclose key clinical data:

Merck: Will debut clinical data for MK-2010 (PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody) introduced from Livzon Pharma, with an upfront payment of up to $588 million.

RAS pipeline breakthroughs: Revolution will disclose the latest data on Pan-Ras asset Daraxonrasib and KRAS (on) G12D inhibitor zoldonrasib; D3Bio will update clinical progress of KRAS G12C inhibitor elisrasib; Jinfang Pharma plans to showcase preclinical data for GFH276 (molecular glue pan-RAS inhibitor), GFS784 (Pan-RAS ADC), and GFH603 (KEAP1-CUL3 covalent allosteric activator).

WuXi AppTec Leads Market Gains

In addition to institutional optimism, WuXi AppTec announced its 2025 results yesterday, achieving revenue of 45.456 billion yuan, a 15.84% increase year-over-year; net profit attributable to shareholders reached 19.151 billion yuan, a substantial 102.65% growth. Excluding non-recurring gains and losses, net profit still grew steadily by 32.56%. The company plans to distribute approximately 4.712 billion yuan in cash dividends, demonstrating strong shareholder returns.

For 2026, the company is optimistic: it expects total revenue between 51.3 billion and 53 billion yuan, with ongoing business revenue growing 18%-22% year-over-year; capital expenditures are planned at 6.5 to 7.5 billion yuan. Thanks to business expansion and operational efficiency improvements, adjusted free cash flow is projected to reach 10.5 to 11.5 billion yuan. Additionally, the company commits to increasing cash dividends in 2026 to 5.71 billion yuan, potentially setting a new record high.

Hong Kong Stock Connect Expansion Turns Biotech & Pharma into Biggest Winners

Recently, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges’ first batch of Hong Kong Stock Connect targets for the year officially took effect. Among the 42 newly added stocks, the biotech and healthcare sectors performed the best, with 13 companies included, accounting for over 30%. These companies cover cutting-edge fields such as cell therapy, AI-driven drug development, innovative small molecules, and antibody drugs, mostly listed under Chapter 18A of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange rules, many being unprofitable biotech firms.

Notable companies:

Kexing Pharmaceutical-B: A leading CAR-T cell therapy company, with a focus on solid tumor treatments.

Yingxi Intelligent: Known for its AI-driven drug R&D platform, a benchmark for “AI + biotech” integration.

Other potential stocks: Pige Biopharma-B, Xuanzhu Biotech-B, Jinfang Pharma-B, with rich clinical pipelines in metabolic diseases, oncology, and autoimmune fields.

Analysts believe this expansion is a direct response from the capital markets to the country’s positioning of biotech and pharma as emerging pillar industries. With southbound funds continuing to increase, this move injects vital liquidity into unprofitable biotech companies still in high R&D investment phases, marking a new stage where mainland and Hong Kong biotech capital markets focus on “value discovery” and “industry empowerment.”