COVID 19: Effect on leading pharmaceutical stocks listed with NSE

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how Covid 19 outbreak has affected leading pharmaceutical stocks listed with the National Stock Exchange of India. We have selected ten leading pharmaceutical companies listed with NSE, and the selection was purely based on the market capitalization of the companies. The general hypothecation of this study was the pharmaceutical stocks will move against the general market trend (contrarian effect). The study period was classified in to pre-crisis period and Covid 19 crisis period. The data consists of 123 daily price observations of the selected 10 pharmaceutical companies. The period of study is ranging from 3rd September 2019 to 28th February 2020. The results reported that momentum effect is persisting with pharmaceutical stocks as the pharmaceutical stocks are moving in accordance with the general benchmarking index. Only two companies, namely Aurobindo Pharma Ltd and Lupin Ltd reported with varied return trend during the study period. This study also signifies that companies like Sun Pharma, Cipla, Glenmark with strong brand reputation were seems to be sustaining in the crisis period in spite of the general falling market trend. This paper is strongly urge the need for backward integration and enhanced research and development activities to Indian Pharmaceutical sector for ensuring their sustainable long-run operations.