Citigroup: Maintains "buy" rating on WuXi AppTec (02359) with a target price of HK$142

Citi released a research report stating that WuXi AppTec (02359) maintains a solid market leadership position in its core business areas, and maintains a "buy" rating on WuXi AppTec with a target price of HK$142. The report pointed out that WuXi AppTec Co-CEO Dr. Li Chen spoke at a medical conference in the United States, followed by a Q&A session with Co-CEO Dr. Qing Yang and CFO Ming Shi. The company's management has forecasted growth in 2026 to be at least equal to that of 2025 (report-calculated YoY growth of 16%, sustained business YoY growth of 21.4%). The CFO also expects that as the company continues to optimize its manufacturing processes, improve capacity utilization and operational efficiency, future profit margins will improve; and divestment of some businesses will also be beneficial. The report mentioned that the TIDES (oligonucleotide and peptide) business is experiencing strong growth, with the company's management pointing out that TIDES revenue in 2025 grew by over 90% YoY. The company completed the expansion of its solid-phase peptide production capacity to 10,000 liters in the third quarter of 2025, and plans to further expand in 2026. As for the GLP-1 project, as of the third quarter of 2025, WuXi AppTec holds a 16% market share in global clinical-stage innovative drug projects, and is currently advancing 24 GLP-1 projects.