By Lucy Raitano
LONDON (Reuters) -Shares in UK pharmaceutical company Hikma rose by the most in 10 months on Thursday after tornado damage to a U.S. facility owned by competitor Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) boosted other drugmakers' stock.
Pfizer said on Wednesday its plant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, which is one of the world's largest sterile injectable product facilities, suffered heavy damage from a tornado.
Nearly 25 percent of all sterile injectables used in U.S. hospitals are produced at the Rocky Mount facility, according to Pfizer's website.
Hikma shares rose by as much as 9.4% in their largest one-day increase since last September, hitting an 18-month high. Pfizer is the largest supplier in the U.S. injectables market and Hikma is the second-largest, analysts said.
Hikma's shares were last up nearly 8.17% on the day, while those in German rival Fresenius, another major supplier to the U.S. injectables market, rose 6.1%
"It is a very large manufacturing facility, therefore I think the read across to Hikma is that they are the second-largest supplier and they will benefit from the problems Pfizer has supplying the market," Stifel healthcare analyst Max Herrmann said.
Hikma's own supply is already constrained, Herrmann added.
A spokesperson for Hikma said the company will work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and others to understand the nature of any supply shortages and do everything possible to try and address them.
"Our thoughts are with the people of North Carolina impacted by this tornado. As always, Hikma will continue to do all that it can to support the needs of patients across the US," the spokesperson said.
Hikma has a market value of around $5.6 billion, compared with Pfizer's $205.7 billion and Fresenius SE (ETR:FREG)'s $16.7 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Fresenius's generic hospital drugs unit Kabi is Pfizer's competitor on the U.S. injectables market
"We await further confirmation of the impact and how quickly the facility can be turned round, but this is likely to be seen as a source of potential upside for Kabi," J.P.Morgan said in a note.
European healthcare stocks were up around 0.8% on the day, outperforming the broader STOXX 600, which rose 0.4%. Pfizer shares were up 0.16% in premarket trading.