Pfizer rivals' stocks soar after tornado destroys Rocky Mountain plant

After a tornado destroyed a large-scale plant of leading US pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, the share prices of its competitor Hikma in the UK, sky-rocketed by the most in 10 months on Thursday.

The UK-based pharmaceutical company's stocks hit an 18-month high, as a result of a sudden surge following news of tornado damage to a US facility owned by competitor Pfizer, which potentially led to a boost in other drugmakers' stock.

According to Pfizer, on Wednesday one of its largest sterile injectable product facilities in the world which is situated in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in the world, suffered heavy damage from a tornado.

As a result, the US-based pharmaceutical company observed a sudden drop in shares while Hikma shares rose by as much as 9.4% in their largest one-day increase since last September.

Pfizer is the largest supplier in the US injectables market and Hikma is the second-largest, analysts said.

Hikma's shares were last up nearly 7% on the day, while those in German rival Fresenius, the third-largest supplier to the US injectables market, were up by 4.84%.

"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.

However, despite being the second-largest supplier of injectables, Hikma's narrower market value, analysts predict that the company may "struggle" to meet demand.

Hikma, which has a market value of around $5.6 billion compared with Pfizer's which stands at $205.7 billion, might struggle to meet demand, Herrmann said.

Hikma was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

European healthcare stocks were up around 0.7% on the day, outperforming the broader STOXX 600, which rose 0.4%. Pfizer shares were up 0.16% in premarket trading.