Indegene Ltd.'s shares surged 5% to hit a 52-week high of ₹621.90 on the BSE on Friday, September 25, after Axis Direct initiated coverage with a 'Buy' recommendation, implying an 18% upside potential. The stock opened at ₹595.05 against its previous close of ₹593.45 and rose 4.8% to reach this milestone. According to reports from CNBC TV18, the earlier Motilal Oswal upgrade to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' with a ₹708 target has also contributed to the positive momentum. The digital-first life-sciences company's shares have demonstrated strong performance with year-to-date gains of 17% and six-month gains of 32%, despite weak overall market sentiment.
As reported by CNBC TV18, Motilal Oswal highlights that Indegene is well-placed to benefit from rising demand for outsourced services and strengthen its strategic role with life sciences clients. The brokerage expects expanding drug pipelines, increasing clinical trial activity and the emergence of new disease areas to add complexity for life sciences companies, while regulatory and affordability pressures are tightening budgets and timelines, prompting pharmaceutical companies to increasingly outsource non-core functions. Indegene's growth opportunity is increasingly shifting toward deepening relationships with existing global biopharma clients beyond the top 20, with the company having built capabilities across clinical, medical, regulatory, pharmacovigilance and commercial functions over two decades of serving global biopharma companies. According to Axis Direct, the company offers a unique AI analytics offering in the life sciences domain, backed by stable cash flows and lower operational leverage, with the combination of domain knowledge, proprietary technology and embedded workflows differentiating it from traditional IT players.
According to Motilal Oswal analysis reported by CNBC TV18, the brokerage estimates revenue, EBIT and PAT to grow at CAGRs of around 19%, 29% and 27%, respectively, in INR terms over FY26 to FY28. Axis Direct expects revenue, EBIT, and PAT to grow at 25%, 26%, and 26% CAGR over FY26-29E, respectively, with the growth trajectory remaining robust aided by client wallet-share expansion, deal conversion, new business wins and AI-led offerings. Axis expects EBITDA margin to recover to 19% to 20% by Q4 FY27, supported by operating leverage and normalisation of investment-related costs. The growth is supported by continued expansion within existing accounts, increasing contribution from clients outside the top 20 and traction in GenAI-led solutions across both commercial and medical affairs. Operationally, Indegene remains in the top quartile, supported by higher revenue per employee than IT services peers and nearly three times that of healthcare business process outsourcing peers.
