Virbac has lost almost 3%, making it one of the biggest decliners on the SBF120, the day after the animal health group announced sales of 314.8 million euros for its first quarter 2023, down slightly by 1.3% at constant exchange rates.

This sales figure was more than 5% below Oddo BHF's estimate, which downgraded its opinion on the share from 'outperform' to 'neutral', in the absence of upside potential in relation to its price target maintained at 293 euros.

Nevertheless, the research firm says that it considers the sluggishness of sales to be temporary, and that it remains "fundamentally positive", as animal health offers a defensive profile in its French midcap healthcare universe.

Virbac has confirmed its full-year forecasts at this stage, attributing the decline in sales to an "unfavorable base effect in a context of market slowdown", and secondarily to inventory effects observed in distribution at the end of 2022.

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