UDG Healthcare shares fall after analyst downgrade

Shares in Dublin-based UDG Healthcare fell by as much as 5 per cent in early trade on the back of an analyst downgrade.

The price of the London-listed stock rebounded slightly but finished the day at 804.5p, down 2.72 per cent.

Liberum analyst Graham Doyle downgraded the stock to a "hold" rating from a "buy" rating.

He said the company’s 2018 investments were likely to be greater than expected. He therefore anticipated organic growth of 9 per cent as opposed to the previous forecast of 15 per cent growth.

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UDG’s Ashfield business, which commercialises drugs, is the main reason cited by Mr Doyle for the downgrade. He believes that the investments in Ashfield being made by management mean that earnings growth will be stymied.

Mr Doyle also noted that the Sharp business, UDG’s drug packaging arm, was likely to face headwinds in the US in the coming six months.

Shares in the company are up some 25 per cent since Liberum started rating the healthcare company in October 2016.