Hester Biosciences Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

Hester Biosciences Ltd trades at ₹2,478, in a confirmed uptrend and 9 weeks into that stage. That is +32.9% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 100% of a 52-week range of ₹1,317 to ₹2,478. On relative strength it has been ahead of the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 20 straight weeks.

Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 9 of stage 2, confirmed. At ₹2,478 it trades +32.9% versus its 200-day average and sits at 100% of its 52-week range (₹1,317–₹2,478).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.4 years the stock moved +464% while the NIFTY 500 moved +276% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 20 straight weeks — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

Hester Biosciences Ltd trades at 39.7× P/E, mid-range by its own standards (37th percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 47.3×, measured across 10.5 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 39.7× is mid-range by its own standards (37th percentile), against a long-run median of 47.3× measured over 10.5 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved +102.4% against a +12.9% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +0.9%/yr price move, ~+7.7%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−6.8 pp from the multiple (compressing); over 10y, of the +12.3%/yr price move, ~+10.6%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+1.7 pp from the multiple (expanding). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.

Put together: the multiple is unremarkable against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

A quarterly PEG curve, which only the second data source carries, is not drawn on this page: its two data sources do not share enough overlapping reported history to be compared. A figure nobody could check is not used to price growth — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

Stage: Improving Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

Hester Biosciences Ltd reads as improving on its fundamental arc. Improving — EPS growth bottomed 7 quarters ago at −8.6% and has held its recovery at +262.2%, ROCE lifting at 15.0%. The read is built from 8 quarters across 4 curves, on partial evidence.

Why it matters: a sustained climb off the trough is the setup this page is built to catch — the question moves to what you pay for it.

The latest quarter’s profit carries a one-off item larger than the operating base, so the profit curve is shown but does not vote in the stage call.

Return readings here are annual, not quarterly — read as level and direction only; they can confirm the growth curves but never drive the stage on their own.

A partial read: at least one curve is short, or the returns curve is not the computed quarterly series — hold the stage word a little more loosely.

4-Factor Sector Score

61.4/100 — rank 2 of 3 in Pharma - Animal · 78% evidence confidence

Hester Biosciences Ltd scores 61.4 out of 100 against the 3 companies it is compared with in Pharma - Animal, ranking 2. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 27.4 + 14.1 + 11.9 + 8 = 61.4. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

Hester Biosciences Ltd reported ₹77.0 Cr of revenue in the Jun 26 quarter, −8.3% year on year. Over 10 years it has compounded at 12.7% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹333 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹325 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹333 Cr (+7.1% on the year), capping 10 years at 12.7% compound. The latest quarter (Jun 26) printed ₹77.0 Cr, −8.3% year on year.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +5.1% growth against the decade's 12.7% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +3.8% over the last 4 quarters against +4.4%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit +260.5% vs +155.4%/yr — accelerating.

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

Hester Biosciences Ltd's operating margin is 29.0% in the Jun 26 quarter, +2.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 18.0% to 38.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 29.0%, +2.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 18.0%–38.0%.

Why the margin moved: operating margin went +2.4 pp year on year while gross margin went +4.6 pp — the gain came mostly from the gross line: input costs and pricing.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

Hester Biosciences Ltd earned ₹97.0 Cr of net profit in the Jun 26 quarter. That quarter carries a one-off item larger than its own revenue, so the year-on-year figure is an artefact rather than a trading result. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹57.0 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 11.6%. That is 126.0% of the quarter's revenue.

Jun 26 profit was ₹97.0 Cr, +470.6% year on year — the 2nd consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹57.0 Cr (+96.6%), and the 10-year compound rate is 11.6%.

🚨 Read this profit with care: at ₹97.0 Cr it is larger than the whole quarter's revenue of ₹77.0 Cr — no operating business earns more than it sells, so this is a one-off item (a debt-to-equity conversion, a tax write-back or an asset sale), not money the business earned. The underlying operations are running at 29.0% operating margin; the year-on-year jump and any P/E built on this number are artefacts of the one-off, not a real earnings turn.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 165% of Hester Biosciences Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹64.0 Cr of operating cash against ₹57.0 Cr of profit. After ₹23.0 Cr of capital spending, ₹41.0 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹64.0 Cr against reported profit of ₹57.0 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹41.0 Cr after ₹23.0 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 165% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

Why conversion sits at 165%: the cash cycle tightened 14 days between FY21 and FY26 — cash that used to wait in the cycle now reaches the bank sooner.

Router verdict: no single sink dominates — the next section checks both the working-capital cycle and the capital spending.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

Hester Biosciences Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 318 days in FY26, down from 332 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹65.0 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹333 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹0.9 Cr, so roughly ₹290 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 105 days, inventory at 323 days — roughly 10.6 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of 318 days, tighter than FY21's 332.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 323 days to sell; customers pay about 105 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 110 days — netting out to the 318-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹333 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹0.9 Cr — so the 318-day loop keeps roughly ₹290 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹65.0 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹53.0 Cr of depreciation — building somewhat ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹9.0 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: neither the cycle nor the build-out is hoarding the cash — the machine is reasonably clean.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.⚠ unverified

Hester Biosciences Ltd earns a ROCE of 15% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 9% in FY23. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −1.6 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is 17.1% net margin on 0.49× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 15%, recovered from a FY23 trough of 9% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 17.1% net margin × 0.49× asset turns × 1.88× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 15.8% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 10.4% − 12.0% = a −1.6 pp spread. The 12.0% is a standing assumption for the cost of capital in India, not a per-stock estimate — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. Negative — growth at these returns destroys value until the returns recover.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.⚠ unverified

Hester Biosciences Ltd carries total debt of ₹195 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹368 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.53. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.85 in FY22 to 0.53 in FY26. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹195 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹368 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.53. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.85 (FY22) to 0.53 (FY26). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

No holder of Hester Biosciences Ltd moved a full percentage point over the last two years — the register is quiet. Promoters moved +0.0 points over the same window, to 53.7%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Foreign institutions: −0.2 points over 8 quarters to 0.3%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 53.7%; Domestic institutions: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 0.0%.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

Hester Biosciences Ltd: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure. The debt, cash-flow and return sections above carry the balance-sheet evidence this page does hold, and each of them states its own reporting date.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one.

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