Pharma Stocks to Watch October 15, 2026: Divi’s, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma After 1.3% Sector Drag

Pharma stocks to watch October 15 begin with the heavyweights that pulled the sector down on Wednesday. The Nifty Pharma index lost 338.05 points, or 1.30%, to close at 25,736.95, against a previous close of 26,075.00, according to Livemint’s index data. No major sectoral index did worse that day, and this while IT and FMCG stocks were rallying.

How pharma stocks traded on October 14

The index opened at 26,058.55, slid to an intraday low of 25,600.95 and then closed about 136 points off that low. The selling was wide. Nearly every one of the index’s 20 stocks finished lower, and Abbott India, up more than 2%, was the only clear gainer.

• Divi’s Laboratories: down 2.82% to ₹9,023.
• Dr Reddy’s Laboratories: down 1.94% to ₹1,216.
• Mankind Pharma: down 1.56%.
• Sun Pharma: down 1.37% to ₹1,746.40.
• Torrent Pharma and Cipla: down 1.35% and 1.13%.
• JB Chemicals: the worst of the sector names tracked by Univest, down 3.87% to ₹2,408.90.

Here’s a neat coincidence. Business Standard reported that the 20 Nifty Pharma stocks shed a combined ₹25,169 crore in market value, almost exactly the ₹25,029 crore that IT stocks gained. The broader Nifty 50 slipped 0.44% to 22,622.7 and the Sensex lost 0.34% to 72,781.89. The full session recap is in our stock market closing report for October 14.

Why the sector fell

Part of it was plain profit-taking. As Moneycontrol pointed out, most pharma shares had run up sharply since the war in West Asia began, riding steady demand for medicines.

The bigger worry is drug-pricing regulation. Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal tied the fall to uncertainty after the Supreme Court questioned how far trade-margin controls should go. At a hearing on October 12, the Centre told the court it would cap trade margins at 30% on non-scheduled cancer drugs. The Bench asked why that cap shouldn’t also cover other essential medicines and medical products. It gave the government until October 27, the next hearing date, to work out how prices could be capped, The Hindu reported. The government’s October 8 release said the cancer-drug cap could bring prices down by up to 70% and save patients ₹2,500 crore a year.

Then there’s the general mood. Kotak Neo pointed to 13 straight sessions of foreign investor selling and crude oil sitting near $107 a barrel.

Pharma stocks to watch on October 15

Dr Reddy’s: In an exchange filing dated October 14, the company said the US FDA had finished a pre-approval inspection of its FTO-9 plant in Visakhapatnam, held from October 8 to 9, and issued a Form 483 with three observations. Dr Reddy’s said it would respond within the stipulated timeline (Form 6-K filing).

Divi’s and Sun Pharma: These two led Wednesday’s losses. A bounce in either would be the first hint that buyers are steadying.

Abbott India and index levels: Keep an eye on whether Abbott’s relative strength lasts. Jatin Gedia of Teji Mandi told Informist that Nifty Pharma has support at 25,400 and resistance at 26,500, and that whatever strength the sector shows is mostly stock-specific. Wednesday’s low of 25,600.95 is the first level we’d watch. The index closed 5.57% below its 52-week high of 27,255.05 and 3.06% below its October 6 close of 26,549.60 (based on Yahoo Finance history).

Q2 earnings are the next real test for pharma

No major pharma company is on Thursday’s results calendar, which ET Markets shows is headed by Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Persistent, Nestle India and Jio Financial Services. When pharma numbers do come, they could disappoint. Across the pharma companies it covers, Axis Securities expects Q2 FY27 revenue to grow 7% year-on-year to ₹40,903 crore. Over the same period it sees EBITDA falling 10% to ₹8,308 crore and net profit dropping 19.6% to ₹4,331 crore.

The brokerage pencils in 10–12% growth for domestic formulations. It says shrinking sales of generic Revlimid and US price erosion are hurting Dr Reddy’s, Aurobindo and Cipla, while Lupin is up against price competition in Tolvaptan. On the brighter side, it sees Biocon and Gland Pharma gaining from new biosimilar launches and Liraglutide.

Until the pricing policy picture clears up, this looks like a market for picking individual stocks rather than buying the whole sector. When results land, our guide on how to analyse quarterly results should help, and the Stock Market Today India hub will carry live updates through the session.