KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research said it "[advocates] investors to take advantage of UMediC Group Bhd's (UMC) [share price] weakness and accumulate".

The research house has maintained its “buy” rating on UMC at 69.5 sen with an unchanged target price (TP) of RM1.03.

In a note on Monday (Aug 7), HLIB said that as the company enters into the second half of 2023 (2H2023), HLIB anticipates an increase in the opening of tenders for medical equipment procurement from the public sector in July and August, to ensure timely delivery by December 2023.

The research house said UMC is also on track to launch two of its new products (prefilled nebuliser and sterile water for inhalation) by end-2023.

“We keep our forecasts unchanged, maintain 'buy' with an unchanged TP of RM1.03; our TP is based on 26.5 times P/E (price-earnings) multiple tagged to its CY2024 (calendar year 2024) forecast EPS (earnings per share) of 3.9 sen.

“With the recent share price retracement offering a significant upside potential of 48%, we advocate investors to take advantage of this weakness and accumulate,” it said.

HLIB said its outlook on UMC's prospects remains optimistic, driven by the growth potential of its manufacturing segment and its favourable position to capitalise on the government's commitment to increase public healthcare spending to 5% of gross domestic product (from an estimated 2.9% in 2021).

“[The] recent share price retracement [offers] a significant upside potential of 48%,” it said.