By Helena Smolak

European pharmaceutical companies start to report results for the fourth quarter this week. Analysts anticipate that remarks from executives on pipeline progress and the new U.S. administration, which could review vaccine mandates, will be the recurring themes when companies report earnings for the last quarter of 2024. Here is what you need to know>

Pharma stocks have underperformed the market in the fourth quarter with the Stoxx Europe 600 Health Care index--which is heavily dominated by Europe's six largest pharma companies--down 9.4% against a 2.2% fall for the broader Stoxx Europe 600 index over the same period. Chinese market volatility and the new U.S. administration have negatively weighed on selected share prices, especially those with vaccines exposure, Berenberg analysts say.

WHAT TO WATCH

-- Interest in EU Pharma among general investors is subdued due to broader macroeconomic trends and uncertainty around the new U.S. administration's plans for healthcare, according to Jefferies and Berenberg analysts. However, the share price discount on stocks exposed to the U.S. vaccines market should ease as the market gains a better understanding of the new Trump administration's policies, they said. U.S. drug pricing has long clouded the sector but is now further complicated by the nomination of vaccine-skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the country's health department, Barclays says. The broker downgraded its EU pharma-sector rating to neutral from positive.

-- Analysts and investors will look at what guidance the major EU pharma companies will set for 2025 as all of them expect key results for potential blockbuster drugs toward the second half of the year, Barclays says. "We see little on the near-term horizon that can improve broader sector sentiment other than earnings upgrades, but these tend to drive gradual movements in share prices," they say.

WHEN COMPANIES ARE SCHEDULED TO REPORT:

-- Roche: Jan. 30

-- Sanofi: Jan. 30

-- Novartis: Jan. 31

-- Novo Nordisk: Feb. 5

-- GSK: Feb. 5

-- AstraZeneca: Feb. 6

-- Bayer: Mar. 5

-- Merck KGaA: Mar. 6

Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2025 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT)

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