I was thinking about adding today but will hold off buying until the Trump euphoria subsides. |
Soriot's head is on the block here. |
Maybe Barclays and GS should apologise to clients on their buy recommend yesterday morning?
The smell was around late Oct, became a stench yesterday. |
Deitche Bank upgrades to hold today |
The Guardian: AstraZeneca shares tumbled on Tuesday wiping £14bn off the value of Britain’s biggest drug maker, after a report that dozens of senior executives at its China unit could be implicated in an insurance fraud case in the country’s pharmaceutical sector. |
 Daily Mail
AstraZeneca shares crash 8.4% as China probe widens: Beijing steps up fraud investigation
AstraZeneca shares suffered their worst one-day drop in more than four years following reports executives in its China business are embroiled in a widening fraud probe.
The FTSE 100 pharma giant, one of the UK’s largest companies, saw £14.4billion wiped off its value after a Chinese state-controlled media outlet said dozens of managers at the business were implicated in a scandal.
An announcement from the group last week revealed that its Chinese arm president Leon Wang was under investigation
An insider at the drugmaker has alleged that stretching targets put ‘extreme pressure’ on AstraZeneca’s sales reps and contributed to issues around compliance, according to Shanghai-based Yicai.
The news outlet also reported that the investigation into AstraZeneca has expanded to include several government agencies.
Shares tumbled 8.4 per cent, or 928p at 10114p. That took losses since its peak in early September, soon after it became Britain’s first ever £200billion company, to 24 per cent.
The sell-off over the past two months – which have coincided with a string of issues in China – has seen its value fall from £205billion to £156billion.
The probe is a setback for chief executive Pascal Soriot who has been hailed for his stewardship of the company since taking over in 2012.
Shares had more than quadrupled on his watch, before the recent sell-off, and still remain some 250 per cent up.
An AstraZeneca spokesman said: ‘As a matter of policy, we do not comment on speculative media reports including those related to ongoing investigations in China. If requested, we will fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities.’
In October, reports emerged that Eva Yin, a former senior executive at AstraZeneca’s China business, had been detained.
The previous month, five current and former employees were also held by Chinese authorities, reportedly for questioning over possibly breaching data privacy laws and importing unlicensed medications.
It is not the first time that AstraZeneca has butted heads with Chinese officials.
In 2022, local police arrested several employees as part of a probe into whether they had faked patient gene-testing results to claim funds from China’s state-run medical insurance fund.
The fallout from this latest investigation threatens AstraZeneca’s business in one of its most critical markets. China accounts for £4.5billion in sales last year, about 13 per cent of its total.
AstraZeneca is the largest pharmaceutical company operating in China and has around 17,000 staff. The group is also planning to build a £350m factory and has also recently signed a number of licensing deals with Chinese companies.
These include a £1.5billion agreement struck last year with Chinese firm Eccogene to develop a weight-loss drug as AstraZeneca moves to take advantage of soaring demand for medicines such as Ozempic.
It is not the only British pharma firm on the hunt for deals in China.
Last week, FTSE 100 rival GSK signed a £653million deal with Chinese biotech firm Chimagen to buy an experimental drug for the autoimmune disease lupus.
thisismoney.co.uk/ |
The Telegraph
Over £14bn wiped off AstraZeneca amid China fears
AstraZeneca suffered a £14bn share price hit on Tuesday after Chinese media reported more details about an investigation into the British drug giant.
Shares plunged 8.4pc, the most in four years, after the report by Chinese state-owned news organisation Yicai claimed that “dozens of senior executives” had been “implicated in an ongoing insurance fraud case”.
Bloomberg has reported that the investigation centres around sales of two cancer drugs, Tagrisso and Imjudo.
AstraZeneca last week told investors that its China president, Leon Wang, was “cooperating with an ongoing investigation by Chinese authorities”. It did not elaborate on the scope of the probe or whether Mr Wang, who grew up in China and has been with the company for more than a decade, had been detained by authorities.
China is AstraZeneca’s third-largest market, with the country providing £5.9bn (£4.5bn) in sales last year. It is the largest foreign drug company in the country, employing 15,000 staff.
An AstraZeneca spokesman said: “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on speculative media reports including those related to ongoing investigations in China.
“If requested, we will fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities. We continue to deliver our life changing medicines to patients in China and our operations are ongoing.” |
Well they use the word speculative - which is interesting.
Suet |
Insider trading? |
Somewhat vague. -8.40% is somewhat significant?
Original report by Yical apparently "insider"?
Closed short 10140, maybe a bounce tomorrow?
Original 105pt loss cleared methinks! |
Looking like China related
RNS from the Company just out
05 November 2024
AZN share price movement
As a matter of policy, we do not comment on speculative media reports including those related to ongoing investigations in China.
If requested, we will fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities.
We continue to deliver our life changing medicines to patients in China and our operations are ongoing. |
Looks like the end of a near 12 month head and shoulders pattern to me… |
Alphorn, its to do with the cancer drug. Massive fraud implied.
Report out now, was leaked by Yical late morning.
Dozens of execs could be implicated.
I was actually following AZN at broker late morning when it started the downward trend which was about 1100.
Neg trades were flying in, I was a wee bit slow on the sell button but managed
short at 10819. Yet to close.
cheers |
Trials would not have been underwritten. They are not normally a risk area claim-wise. |
Three thing at once:
Insurance Fraud
Weight Loss drug
Covid trial case in America
and a downgrade from Deutsche Bank. |
Agree. Wasn't Covid underwritten by the government, so can't be that. Maybe their slim pill hasn't gone down too well, but thats not really been a major factor. My guess is, even though Astra has invested huge amounts into China, they're known to happily fine any foreign company massively, and I think that has done the damage here.On that 'guess', I'm in for more, can't believe the price, but as always do your own. |
Very odd to have a legal issue with a clinical trial due to the paperwork signed off. |
South China Morning Post ,4 NovPharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, whose China president is under investigation, was previously investigated for medical insurance fraud cases involving cancer medication sales, according to new Chinese media reports.The news comes after the British-Swedish company announced on its official website last week that its China chief Leon Wang was cooperating "with an ongoing investigation", and its operations in the country would continue under the leadership of AstraZeneca China's general manager.Media outlet Caixin reported on Monday that an official investigation, first made public in early 2022, targeted sales representatives for AstraZeneca's lung cancer medication Tagrisso in the southern city of Shenzhen. |
Is this a good entry point, seems oversold |
hxxps://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3285128/report-finds-china-targeted-astrazeneca-fraud-probe-over-cancer-treatment |
Phil,
I checked current press releases, the drug trial you mentioned is ongoing to phase 2.
Unable to find bad press, but noticed the drop trend so jumped in hoping to regain my
105pt loss! Staying short until reason is explained.
PS: Generally a big fan and held for years, closed awhile ago around 10k mark.
Year low is 9461. |
Dd , well done on that ,this has been a waste of time for 2024, -8% so far.
Chart support pointing at that 9500p then somewhere near 8500p |
G'day,
Re: The slim pill, I doubt that is the reason for drop.
Maybe the Covid issue, USA & UK?
Managed to regain previous loss with short (10819).
12 month low 9461.
Barclays & GS buy this am. Whoops |
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