European pharma stocks slip after Trump taps RFK Jr to lead top US health agency

argenx SE

15/11/2024 08:58

** Share in healthcare companies drop the most in Europe,
hurt by the news that Donald Trump has selected Robert F.
Kennedy Jr., who has previously spread misinformation on
vaccines, to lead the country's top health agency
    ** STOXX 600 Healthcare index  .SXDP  at -2.09% is the
biggest faller among the pan-European indices
    ** At 1113.76 points, the sub-index is at its lowest in 7
months and is heading for its biggest single day slump since
early August if losses persist
    ** Stifel, Oddo BHF and Bernstein analysts attribute
Friday's share weakness in the sector to the news, pointing in
particular to vaccine makers
    ** "A somewhat knee-jerk reaction but not entirely
surprising in this case," Stifel's Eric Le Berrigaud says
    ** "We don't think the U.S. will change its vaccination
calendar because it's based on scientific data," Bernstein's
Florent Cespedes says, deeming the reaction "exaggerated"
    ** Among single stocks, Sanofi  SASY.PA , GSK  GSK.L  fall
more than 3%, AstraZeneca  AZN.L  falls 2.5%, Roche  ROG.S  down
2.8%
    ** Bavarian Nordic  BAVA.CO , which makes mpox vaccine,
plummets 17%, also hurt by weak Q3 results
    ** Belgium's UCB  UCB.BR  slumps 6.3%, argenx  ARGX.BR  down
3.6%, Spain's Rovi  ROVI.MC  slides 4.2%

 (Reporting by Piotr Lipinski)
 ((piotr.lipinski@tr.com))