HK Stock Market Move | WUXI BIO (02269) rose by over 6% again, with the company expecting a profit increase of over 56% year on year in the first half of the year. Morgan Stanley says its first half financial report exceeded expectations.

WUXI BIO (02269) rose by over 6%, as of the time of writing, it has increased by 5.86% to 31.6 Hong Kong dollars, with a turnover of 8.2 billion Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, WUXI BIO released a performance forecast, expecting a growth of about 16% in the first half of the year; profit and profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Company are expected to increase by about 54% and 56% respectively year-on-year. The expected performance growth is mainly attributed to the successful execution of the "follow and win in molecules" strategy, as well as the leading technology platform, industry-best project delivery times, and excellent past project execution records driving the Group's revenue growth; based on rapidly developing technology platforms such as ADC and bispecific antibodies, the Group is expanding its range of services to the biopharmaceutical industry including research discovery, pre-IND development, and clinical and commercial production; revenue growth generated by the Group's several advanced technologies; and the utilization of existing and newly added production capacities by the Group. Morgan Stanley published a research report stating that WUXI BIO performed better than expected in the first half of the year, driven by a 3.6 percentage point expansion in gross margin year-on-year. The bank believes that the expansion of gross margin is mainly due to an increase in service projects and improved utilization rates. The better-than-expected financial results in the first half of the year also provide a cushion for the company's guidance for a 12 to 15% increase in annual revenue and improvement in profitability; the target price is now 35 Hong Kong dollars with a "hold" rating.