Holding pharma stocks? Minor correction may offer buying opportunity, says analyst
Bathini’s comments come at a time when investors are reassessing sector leadership in a volatile market, with pharma stocks reacting to a mix of regulatory, product and business-specific developments.
- Oct 5, 2026,
- Updated Oct 5, 2026 3:57 PM IST
India’s pharma rally may be far from over. Even as select drugmakers face stock-specific pressure in trade, Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist, WealthMills Securities said the broader investment case for pharma and healthcare remains intact, arguing that recent declines should be seen as opportunities rather than warning signs.
Bathini’s comments come at a time when investors are reassessing sector leadership in a volatile market, with pharma stocks reacting to a mix of regulatory, product and business-specific developments. His core message was clear: the near-term wobble does not alter the medium-to long-term story.
Momentum Still Intact
“We witnessed a fabulous rally for pharma as well as healthcare,” Bathini said, pointing to the strong run seen across the segment over the past year to 18 months. He added that hospital stocks, too, have rallied significantly and have largely managed to sustain those gains.
That resilience matters. In a market searching for earnings visibility and defensiveness, pharma and healthcare continue to stand out as sectors where investors have rewarded consistency, balance-sheet strength and relatively stable demand trends.
Why the Street Is Watching Dips Closely
Bathini said he expects the same kind of momentum in pharma stocks going ahead as well. More importantly, he framed any correction as a tactical opening for investors. “Any consolidation or any kind of decline in these stocks, it gives a good opportunity for the investors for a medium to longer term basis,” he said.
That view suggests the current pullback in some names may be more about sentiment than fundamentals. According to Bathini, the market’s reaction should be read as a “short-term reaction on the sentiment of the stock prices,” rather than a sign that the sector’s rally has run out of steam.
Stock-Specific Noise, Sector-Wide Signal
The backdrop to his remarks was a mixed news flow across major pharma counters. Cipla was dealing with a regulatory setback tied to a warehouse licence issue, Sun Pharma saw encouraging data around a specialty therapy, Piramal Pharma flagged the end of a commercial arrangement with Bayer, and Aurobindo Pharma drew attention on acquisition and US FDA-related developments.
Yet Bathini did not single out one stock as the defining call. Instead, his broader sectoral stance was more telling: “One can buy pharma stocks. Still there is steam left in the pharma stocks” on a medium- to long-term basis.
For investors, that effectively shifts the lens from daily headlines to sector durability. In a market still grappling with uncertainty elsewhere, pharma appears to be retaining its place as a relatively dependable pocket of strength.
India’s pharma rally may be far from over. Even as select drugmakers face stock-specific pressure in trade, Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist, WealthMills Securities said the broader investment case for pharma and healthcare remains intact, arguing that recent declines should be seen as opportunities rather than warning signs.
Bathini’s comments come at a time when investors are reassessing sector leadership in a volatile market, with pharma stocks reacting to a mix of regulatory, product and business-specific developments. His core message was clear: the near-term wobble does not alter the medium-to long-term story.
Momentum Still Intact
“We witnessed a fabulous rally for pharma as well as healthcare,” Bathini said, pointing to the strong run seen across the segment over the past year to 18 months. He added that hospital stocks, too, have rallied significantly and have largely managed to sustain those gains.
That resilience matters. In a market searching for earnings visibility and defensiveness, pharma and healthcare continue to stand out as sectors where investors have rewarded consistency, balance-sheet strength and relatively stable demand trends.
Why the Street Is Watching Dips Closely
Bathini said he expects the same kind of momentum in pharma stocks going ahead as well. More importantly, he framed any correction as a tactical opening for investors. “Any consolidation or any kind of decline in these stocks, it gives a good opportunity for the investors for a medium to longer term basis,” he said.
That view suggests the current pullback in some names may be more about sentiment than fundamentals. According to Bathini, the market’s reaction should be read as a “short-term reaction on the sentiment of the stock prices,” rather than a sign that the sector’s rally has run out of steam.
Stock-Specific Noise, Sector-Wide Signal
The backdrop to his remarks was a mixed news flow across major pharma counters. Cipla was dealing with a regulatory setback tied to a warehouse licence issue, Sun Pharma saw encouraging data around a specialty therapy, Piramal Pharma flagged the end of a commercial arrangement with Bayer, and Aurobindo Pharma drew attention on acquisition and US FDA-related developments.
Yet Bathini did not single out one stock as the defining call. Instead, his broader sectoral stance was more telling: “One can buy pharma stocks. Still there is steam left in the pharma stocks” on a medium- to long-term basis.
For investors, that effectively shifts the lens from daily headlines to sector durability. In a market still grappling with uncertainty elsewhere, pharma appears to be retaining its place as a relatively dependable pocket of strength.