Chinese biopharmaceutical company BeiGene Ltd. stumbled in its trading debut in China, tracking the recent slide in its overseas shares as it became the first company to be listed in the U.S., Hong Kong and the Shanghai STAR market.
BeiGene shares fell 20% below its initial public offering price before recovering some ground. The stock was last down 13% at 168.02 yuan (US$26.39) at mid-day on Wednesday.
Beijing-based BeiGene, which specializes in cancer treatment, has had American Depository Shares listed on the Nasdaq since 2016, and floated shares in Hong Kong in 2018. The company's Hong Kong shares were last down 5.8% at HK$165.20 in Wednesday mid-day trade.
BeiGene raised gross proceeds of about US$3.5 billion in its China offering, the biggest of the year on Shanghai's tech-heavy STAR Market, issuing 115.1 million shares at CNY192.60 each. The company plans to using the funding in part to develop its suite of cancer therapy drugs.
Investment bank Jefferies recently rated the company's Hong Kong shares a buy with a HK$210.80 price target. It highlighted a cancer drug approved for clinical trials in China, describing its safety as superior to that of similar drugs.
Nomura last week initiated coverage of BeiGene with a neutral rating and a target price of HK$214.05 on Hong Kong shares, noting the company's global reach, nine approved drugs approved in the U.S. and China, and collaborations with global pharma leaders including Novartis AG and Amgen Inc.
Nomura expects the company to register sales of US$1.63 billion by 2023 and turn profitable by 2026.
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