Street sees stent, drug price control clouding prospects of hospital firms

Share prices of hospital majors have seen corrections in the past 2 months

Even as the Street remains positive on the prospects of hospital majors in light of the new capacities added and growing healthcare needs and awareness of India’s population, fresh concerns have popped up recently. While disappointments with the third quarter's performance made the Street cautious, measures undertaken by the government on price control pertaining to cardiac stents have led the Street to evaluate the possible impact on the profitability and revenue of hospitals.

In this backdrop, in the post-December quarter results, the share price of Apollo Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare has corrected 7-13 per cent. Further, cardiac care specialist Narayana Hrudayalaya