Goldman Sachs upgrades Hikma on Roxane Labs acquisition

(ShareCast News) - Goldman Sachs upgraded Hikma Pharmaceuticals to 'buy' from 'neutral', added the stock to its regional stock 'focus list' and lifted its price target to 2,840p from 2,210p."We see the acquisition of Roxane Labs as the realisation of large transformational M&A that we had expected to be a key catalyst."GS said the deal makes Hikma the sixth-largest player in the US generics market and offers potential to further improve its market position, with the acquired high-value pipeline playing a key role.The bank said the current share price does not reflect Hikma's accelerated growth profile. It noted that the stock trades at a 20% discount to global generic peers, which it believe is not justified and suggests re-rating potential."Though Hikma's share price has increased 11.3% since announcement of the deal, we believe this does not fully reflect the potential offered by the acquired portfolio, the extensive pipeline, R&D capabilities, and increased manufacturing capacity."Goldman said accelerated top-line growth together with synergies likely to be realised and cost savings from economies of scale and improved operational leverage should help Hikma deliver an 18% EBITDA compound annual growth rate over 2016-18.At 1200 BST, Hikma shares were up 0.2% at 2,347p.