Shares in UCB, the Belgian biopharmaceutical company, slid sharply today after the firm issued a profit warning and revised its full-year sales guidance downwards. The stock dropped by as much as 12.5% in early European trading, making it one of the worst performers on the Stoxx 600 healthcare index. By midday, shares were trading around €132, down from Thursday's close of €151.
The company said it now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for 2025 to come in between €2.3bn and €2.5bn, below the previous consensus of €2.7bn. UCB cited weaker-than-anticipated sales of its epilepsy treatment Briviact and its recently launched psoriasis drug Bimzelx, which has faced slower-than-expected uptake in Europe and the United States.
Analysts at Jefferies downgraded the stock from 'buy' to 'hold', noting that the profit warning signals deeper structural challenges. 'Bimzelx was seen as a key growth driver, but competitive pressure from newer IL-17 inhibitors has eroded its market share faster than expected,' they wrote in a note. The downgrade added to selling pressure, with trading volumes more than double the 30-day average.
The sell-off in UCB also dragged down the broader European healthcare sector, with the Stoxx 600 healthcare index falling 0.8% on the day. UK-listed pharmaceutical stocks, including AstraZeneca and GSK, were also marginally lower, though analysts said the impact was largely sentiment-driven rather than fundamental. 'This is a company-specific issue, but it highlights the risks in the biotech space where pipeline execution is critical,' said an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
For UK investors holding UCB shares through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or pension funds with European equity exposure, the drop represents a notable short-term loss. The FTSE 100 was broadly flat on the day, but the weakness in healthcare stocks served as a reminder of the sector's vulnerability to product-specific setbacks. Source: Jefferies, UCB investor presentation.