I suppose in retrospect an IPO of the China business as discussed a year or so ago would have been a good idea |
Seems its in oncology results were massaged to qualify for state insurance but AZN is not being blamed ,sales of such drugs are less than 5% of chinese revenue and not greatly profitable.
Looks like they have thrown out the baby with the bath water. |
Incredible, really. I hope their next income guidance, on the 12th, doesn't contain too much good news as it'll probably make it sink further. |
I'm holding what I've got but not adding until this mess is cleaned up.
AZN now my smallest portfolio holding by value. |
I reckon 9461p then may have a look. |
Horrible drop, looking to buy v soon. |
Pulled the trigger this morning topped up 50% of what I was going to buy will hold fire with the rest until next week. I keep thinking for 13% of sales this fall is overdone its not as if they will lose all of China sales .
Ok some fine as well its part of doing business in China. |
And still the shareprice goes south even after that AstraZeneca statement - not good at all..
Going nowhere but down until this claimed fraud is cleared by the chinese.
Chart support around 8000p / 8500p |
I think further to fall, investors hate uncertainty. |
well done for holding off, it's dropping off again! |
Yep, it's boll*xed for now. |
More bad news |
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! |
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