Just days after taking back some of the stake held by L’Oréal, Sanofi has agreed to repurchase its own shares worth €2bn ($2.08bn) from other stakeholders.
The French drugmaker said it had entered a mandate with an “investment service provider”, with the purchase occurring between 7 February and, at the latest, 31 December 2024. This second tranche of Sanofi’s repurchase strategy for this year will be made through block trades and in the open market with the purpose of cancellation.
GlobalData senior analyst Ophelia Chan said: “This large buyback is a reassuring signal on the company’s stock price in the short term, but investors will be monitoring closely for Sanofi’s long-term innovation and pipeline progress.”
Sanofi declined to comment to Pharmaceutical Technology when asked for further details on the latest share buyback.
Shares in the Paris-listed company opened with a deficit of 2.8% on 7 February following the announcement but quickly rebounded by mid-morning.
Sanofi joins a growing list of big pharma companies gaining larger control in their businesses. This week, GSK launched a $2.5bn share buyback on the back of Q4 results that topped expectations. Eli Lilly also said it plans to buy back around $15bn in shares in a December 2024 announcement, amid the booming popularity of its diabetes and weight loss treatments.
With cash running high and room to boost its earnings per share, Sanofi announced its intention to execute a $5.1bn share buyback programme this year in its Q4 2024 earnings call. Earlier this week, the company trimmed the ownership of one of its largest shareholders, L’Oréal, after buying back €3bn worth of shares. The two share purchase agreements this week mean the drugmaker has already ticked the buyback programme off its 2025 checklist.
Sanofi’s shares have been performing well so far this year on the Paris Stock Exchange after raising its full-year profit outlook. This was propelled by blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent (dupilumab) and new launches such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) preventative antibody Beyfortus (nirsevimab), developed in partnership with AstraZeneca. Positive financial guidance comes despite uncertainty over vaccine profitability with changing political stances in the US under a new administration.
Other 2025 targets for Sanofi include finalising the deal to sell a controlling stake in its consumer health business Opella. The company plans to close the deal for the business, valued at around $17bn, in Q2 this year. Pipeline milestones for 2025 include a regulatory submission in the first half of the year for a subcutaneous version of the multiple myeloma treatment Sarclisa (isatuximab-irfc).
