The latest Market Talks covering the Health Care sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0643 GMT - Praram 9 Hospital's earnings stand to gain from strong foreign-patient flows, CGS International's Kasem Prunratanamala says in a research report. In a recent conference call, the management mentioned its foreign patient traffic has shown robust growth due to strong Middle Eastern patient flows, the analyst notes. However, the Thai hospital's margin improvements are likely to be gradual as it may still need to offer discounts to keep its Thai patients and incur expenses to attract new foreign markets. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to THB33.75 from THB33.50 to reflect a valuation roll-forward, with an unchanged add rating. Shares are 0.4% lower at THB22.50. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0402 GMT - WuXi AppTec keeps its bull at Nomura after its 3Q profit beat analysts' consensus estimate. The Chinese pharmaceutical services company raised its 2025 revenue and plans to spend less on capital expenditure, analyst Jialin Zhang says in a note. The company also agreed to sell its Chinese clinical research services unit, he says. The analyst raised his 2025 and 2026 earnings projections by 33.5% and 33.3%, respectively, to reflect factors such as enhanced efficiency and the unit disposal. Nomura reaffirms its buy rating and raises its target on WuXi AppTec's Hong Kong stock to HK$130.63 from HK$102.77. Nomura also raises its target on its Shanghai-listed shares to CNY118.83 from CNY93.49. Shares were last at HK$114.30 in Hong Kong and CNY105.73 in China. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

2337 GMT - Investors are expected to view CSL's decision to delay a spinoff of flu-vaccine unit Seqirus positively, says RBC Capital Markets analyst Craig Wong-Pan. With U.S. flu-vaccine rates in decline, he says most investors didn't expect the spinoff to create value. Still, Wong-Pan says he expects CSL shares to underperform the market Tuesday given the company's announcement that it is cutting guidance, though he says the tempered growth outlook is "somewhat understandable given it has been mostly attributable to weakness in the influenza vaccine market." CSL shares are down some 15% to about A$180/share. (mike.cherney@wsj.com)

1030 GMT - Novartis is advancing in its pursuit of a leading RNA platform, a strategic goal for the Swiss drugmaker, with its $12 billion deal to acquire Avidity Biosciences, UBS analysts write. The deal adds three potential blockbuster drugs with combined sales potential of up to $6.3 billion by 2034 to Novartis's pipeline, and should generate around $3 billion in additional revenue by 2029, the analysts say. Through the acquisition, Novartis is also gaining access to a new class of RNA therapeutics, called antibody oligonucleotide conjugate, with a platform that enables delivering RNA therapy to muscle, UBS says. Novartis shares fall 1.5% in European midday trading, while Avidity jumps 44% in U.S. premarket exchanges. (william.gray@wsj.com)

0909 GMT - China's imminent 15th Five-Year Plan is set to give the country's stock market a boost, HSBC analysts say in a research report. The A-share market has logged average returns of 16.5% in the year after the release of Beijing's Five-Year Plan, the analysts say. "Strategically important industries explicitly mentioned in the plan could have an excess return of 17.5% on average," they add. HSBC highlights three likely investment themes: tech innovation and self-sufficiency, consumption growth, and the green transition. HSBC favors Naura Technology, Kingsoft Office and BeOne for tech innovation on Beijing's IT localization initiative, Yili for consumption, and EVE Energy for the green transition on expected price increases in energy storage system batteries. (jason.chau@wsj.com)

0824 GMT - Lonza's third-quarter update shows the company is on track to meet its long-term goals and streamline its operations despite currency and macroeconomic challenges, Vontobel's Sibylle Bischofberger says. Contract activity is gaining momentum, especially at the Swiss contract drug manufacturer's Vacaville, California, site, where a major new deal was recently signed, Bischofberger says. Progress toward divesting the capsules and health ingredients business supports Lonza's plan to streamline operations and focus on its core biologics business, Bischofberger adds. Lonza should benefit from drugmakers' increasing moves to outsource and nearshore production, according to Vontobel. Shares trade roughly flat and are up 9.5% year-to-date. (william.gray@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2025 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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