ZHESHANG SECURITIES·2025-09-10 14:12Investment Rating - The industry investment rating is optimistic [2] Core Views - The report indicates a recovery in the industry, marking a turning point for allocation strategies [6] - The financial data and order trends suggest that the CXO sector has reached a fundamental turning point and is in a phase of continuous recovery [63] Summary by Sections Stock Price Review - Domestic performance shows a significant increase in the medical research outsourcing index, which rose by 60.41% from December 31, 2024, to September 4, 2025, outperforming the pharmaceutical and biotechnology index by 36.15 percentage points [4] - Internationally, there is a general upward revision of performance forecasts, with signs of demand recovery. Medpace showed the largest upward adjustment in its 2025 guidance [4][17] Financial Analysis - Growth: The year-over-year (YOY) revenue trend is improving, with the average YOY revenue growth for CXO companies reaching 8.2% in Q1 2025 and 11.6% in Q2 2025 [26] - Profitability: The average gross margin in Q2 2025 was 32.45%, showing a slight increase of 0.18 percentage points YOY. Some companies like Medpace and Boten Co. saw significant improvements in their margins [33] - Operational Efficiency: Inventory turnover improved from 1.56 in H1 2024 to 1.81 in H1 2025, indicating enhanced operational efficiency driven by increased capacity utilization [35] Thoughts and Outlook - PE/VC financing in the healthcare sector has stabilized at a low point, with a slight decline in absolute values for Q2 2025 compared to previous quarters, but ongoing improvements in global IPOs and business development transactions are expected to drive demand recovery [47] - IPO financing in the A-share and US markets has stabilized, while Hong Kong's market has seen a significant rebound, with HK IPO amounts reaching 20.7 billion HKD in 2025 [52] - The construction of new projects remains high, indicating optimistic expectations for capacity expansion among CXO companies, with a focus on new business areas such as ADCs and oligonucleotides [56] Investment Strategy - The report recommends investing in CDMO opportunities driven by the continued realization of commercial orders for small and large molecules, as well as clinical CRO opportunities supported by domestic innovation drug policies [63] - Key companies to watch include WuXi AppTec, Kelun Pharmaceutical, and others in the small molecule and large molecule CDMO sectors [63]