Roche: growth potential and strong balance sheet

The Basel based pharmaceutical company benefits from both defensive characteristics and a significant growth potential. Indeed, the contribution from new products (Ocrevus, Tecentriq, Hemlibra) to the cash flow generation should further increase. In any case, this is what recent FDA approvals for new applications of these products suggest. Furthermore, the negative effect of biosimilar on historic franchises (Avastin, Herceptin, Rituxan) has proven much less damaging than anticipated. Finally, with a net debt to EBITDA ratio inferior to 0.2 times, Roche enjoys a rock-solid balance sheet. This feature is particularly appreciable in the turbulent period that we are currently going through.