Ebos drags NZX50 higher as healthcare stocks find favour

Ebos Group led the S&P/NZX 50 Index higher as healthcare stocks found themselves in favour as the omicron variant of covid-19 has investors pondering the next step in the pandemic.

Wednesday, December 22nd 2021, 6:08PM

by BusinessDesk

The benchmark index edged up 8.35 points, or 0.1%, to 12,865.22 in relatively modest trading, with turnover across the entire market of $111.5 million.

Ebos rose 3.8% to $39.17 and is up 40.4% so far this year as investors continue to laud the animal and healthcare products manufacturer’s nous for acquisitions. Ebos is finishing off the retail component of raising A$742m (NZ$784m) to help fund its $1.17 billion acquisition of medical products distributor LifeHealthcare.

“If you go back to the start of the year, a lot of brokers would have said that 2021 will be Ebos’s year,” said Peter McIntyre, an investment adviser at Craigs Investment Partners. “This is fulfilling the promise.”

Other healthcare stocks also found favour today, with AFT Pharmaceuticals up 4.4% at $4.49, Blis Technologies advancing 4.2% to 5 cents and, tangentially, Comvita rising 0.3% to $3.55.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare snapped recent gains, falling 0.1% to $32.96, although the exporter has had a dual-tailwind in recent days with the NZ dollar trading near 14-month lows.

The kiwi bounced back from its recent decline, trading at 67.58 US cents at 3pm in Wellington from 67.12 cents yesterday as traders dialled back their fears over the omicron variant slowing global growth. The trade-weighted index was at 72.70 from 72.32 yesterday.

Interest rate sensitive stocks, such as real estate investors were weaker today after swap rates crept higher. Industrial property investor, Property For Industry posted the day’s biggest decline on the benchmark index, falling 2.4% to $2.905. Investore Property fell 1.5% to $1.92 and Vital Healthcare Property Trust slipped 1.3% to $3.12.

Vista Group International rose 2.8% to $2.24 after affirming revenue guidance following the recent success of blockbuster movie releases.

Transport companies rallied following news freight company and Bluebridge ferry operator StraitNZ had been sold for $500m. Mainfreight rose 0.5% to $90, Freightways was up 1.4% at $12.87 and Move Logistics advanced 0.6% to $1.64.

Agricultural companies were also in favour, despite the decline in milk prices at the last Global Dairy Trade auction of the year, which remain elevated.

Allied Farmers rose 6.9% to 93 cents after saying its first-half pre-tax profit is forecast to rise to between $1m and $1.2m in the six months ended Dec 31 from about $546,000 a year earlier.

PGG Wrightson climbed 4.5% to $4.91, Scales increased 0.2% to $5.47, A2 Milk climbed 1.7% to $5.90 and Synlait Milk advanced 0.9% to $3.43. Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund units slipped 0.8% to $3.56.

Tags: Market Close