Cipla's stock prices have increased slightly due to high trading volume

Pharmaceutical company Cipla has recently been in the spotlight after signing a license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG on April 10th to manufacture and market the Galvus range for type 2 diabetes treatment.

On April 12th, the company's shares edged up by 1.5% in early trading after a significant deal involving the exchange of around 12.56 lakh shares (0.16% stake) of the company was executed on the bourses, boosting hopes of improved sales prospects.

Although the buyers and sellers of the trade have yet to be identified, the deal was executed at an average of Rs 915 per share, with the total deal value amounting to Rs 114.96 crore.

Following the trade, Cipla's shares were trading at around one percent higher at Rs 914.15 on the National Stock Exchange, climbing to an intraday high of Rs 920.90. The rise in COVID-19 cases also helped to boost sentiment towards the company's sales prospects.

Cipla has already attracted the attention of major institutional players such as SBI Arbitrage Opportunities Fund, UTI, HDFC Mutual Fund, GQG Partners Emerging Market Fund, Government of Singapore, LIC, Government Pension Fund Global, and NPS Trust, all of whom hold stakes in the pharmaceutical giant, according to the company's shareholding data as of the end of the December quarter.

With the company's recent deal to manufacture and market the Galvus range, which is a prominent brand in the oral diabetic medication category and one of the top brands in the Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 (DPP4) space, Cipla's position in the diabetes category in India is expected to strengthen. On the bourses, around 16 lakh shares have been exchanged so far, as opposed to the one-month daily traded average of eight lakh shares.