243 Institutions Focus on One Company

Preface

Institutional research activity can offer a snapshot of which companies and industries are attracting investor attention. During the week of October 19–October 23, 148 listed companies disclosed records of investor-research meetings. Huashengchang drew the largest number of participating institutions: 243. Interest in the company reflects potential opportunities in advanced optical testing, as AI computing accelerates the development of optical modules and related technologies. Meanwhile, research activity across the broader A-share market also focused on companies such as Puluo Pharmaceutical, particularly its contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business. This article reviews the week’s research trends, summarizes the outlook presented by both companies, and places their reported operating data and share-price performance in context. The figures and statements below reflect the information reported in the source.

Lazy bag

Huashengchang attracted research meetings from 243 institutions, the most among companies covered during the week. Its stated growth strategy combines established testing-instrument businesses with optical-testing expansion through Galante. Across the market, 817 institutions conducted research on A-share listed companies, with Guotai Haitong Securities recording the most visits. Puluo Pharmaceutical drew attention for its CDMO outlook: revenue reached 20.5 billion yuan in the first three quarters, up 21.38% year over year, while commercial orders expected to be delivered over the next three years exceeded 7.8 billion yuan. The central themes were domestic substitution in high-end test equipment and continued expansion in pharmaceutical CDMO services.

Main Body

Huashengchang led the weekly company-level research tally. During October 19–October 23, 148 listed companies disclosed institutional-investor research records. Huashengchang (华盛昌) received research from 243 institutions, the highest number among the companies reported. Hardware equipment, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals and biotechnology were among the industries that attracted relatively strong attention. The source also reported a ranking of the top ten listed companies by number of institutions conducting research, although it did not provide the individual names and figures for that ranking in the supplied text.

One reason for the interest in Huashengchang is the rapid development of optical modules and technologies including CPO, or co-packaged optics. The company said that AI computing power is driving the industrialization of optical modules, CPO, and NPO technologies, creating a rare opportunity for China’s high-end test-instrument industry. For many years, high-end optoelectronic testing equipment was dominated by overseas companies. Huashengchang sees the localization and domestic sourcing of downstream supply chains as an important opportunity to expand its position.

The company described its longer-term approach as a two-engine strategy based on coordination between its optoelectronic and established testing businesses. The first engine is its traditional testing and measurement operations. Built over more than thirty years, these businesses include general-purpose and specialized test instruments, environmental testing, power-related products, and medical testing. Huashengchang said they continue to operate steadily while pursuing higher-end products and global markets.

International operations are part of that foundation. The company cited overseas production capacity in Vietnam and a global sales network as resources for gradually increasing its share of overseas markets. In its account, the established business provides relatively stable cash flow, manufacturing capacity, and supply-chain capabilities. These resources can also support investment in research and development for newer businesses. The approach therefore links existing operations to expansion into advanced testing rather than treating the newer activities as entirely separate.

The second engine is Galante (伽蓝特), which Huashengchang aims to develop into a second growth curve by pursuing demand in high-speed optical communications. Galante focuses on testing for 800G and 1.6T optical modules, as well as silicon photonics wafers. The company said its CPO products have completed validation and received customer recognition, while related NPO testing solutions remain under development.

In the short term, Huashengchang plans to continue increasing Galante’s production capacity, support order delivery, and expand its share of China’s automated testing systems for high-speed optical modules. These steps are intended to translate the optical-communications business into incremental performance. The source does not provide a separate revenue target or delivery schedule, so the company’s comments are best understood as strategic intentions rather than quantified forecasts.

Over the medium and long term, Huashengchang says it does not intend to limit Galante to equipment for mass-production testing of optical modules. It plans to extend its work into silicon photonics and next-generation co-packaged optics testing, with the broader objective of advancing the domestic production of high-end optoelectronic test instruments. The company also expects to use Huashengchang’s established overseas channels to take Galante products to international markets. In this way, management hopes to evolve the company from a traditional general-purpose instrument manufacturer into a platform-oriented high-end testing and measurement business, while pursuing domestic-substitution opportunities in additional advanced electronic-testing fields.

According to Wind data, Huashengchang’s share price had risen 346.08% cumulatively since the beginning of the year. That reported performance helps explain why the company may be receiving heightened attention, but it is a historical market figure and does not, by itself, establish future results or validate the company’s expectations.

Research activity extended well beyond the leading company. In total, 817 institutions conducted research on A-share listed companies during the week. Guotai Haitong Securities (国泰海通证券) recorded the highest number of research visits. Puluo Pharmaceutical (普洛药业) was among the individual stocks receiving substantial institutional attention. The supplied report refers to companies whose research activity involved more than 18 institutions, but does not include the full list or the underlying counts for each company.

Questions about Puluo Pharmaceutical centered on the composition of its CDMO business and the outlook for the fourth quarter and the following year. Institutions asked about the share of third-quarter revenue from clinical-stage CDMO projects, expected business trends, and the direction of CDMO contract pricing and gross margins. The company explained that order delivery can vary from quarter to quarter because schedules are arranged around customer needs and delivery timing; it does not follow a clearly regular pattern.

Puluo Pharmaceutical said clinical-project deliveries exceeded commercial-project deliveries in the third quarter. For the fourth quarter and the following full year, it expects commercial-order deliveries to exceed clinical-project deliveries. On pricing, the company described recent CDMO order prices as relatively stable. Discussions generally take place with reference to reasonable costs and reasonable gross margins, and the overall situation remains normal, according to the company.

The reported financial figures provide additional context. In the first three quarters, Puluo Pharmaceutical’s CDMO business generated revenue of 20.5 billion yuan, an increase of 21.38% year over year, with a gross margin of 40.39%. In the third quarter, revenue was 6.42 billion yuan, up 40.96% year over year, and gross margin was 35.52%. These figures show different revenue growth and margin levels across the reported periods; the source does not provide further detail on the factors behind the margin change.

The company also said that the value of its commercial orders on hand scheduled for delivery over the next three years exceeds 78 billion yuan. It described its CDMO project funnel as established and expanding rapidly, while its capabilities in newer modalities—including ADCs, peptides, cyclic peptides, molecular glues, and small nucleic acids—are improving quickly. The order figure indicates reported work scheduled for future delivery, but it should not be read as equivalent to revenue already recognized.

Wind data showed that Puluo Pharmaceutical’s share price had risen 23.03% cumulatively since the beginning of the year. As with Huashengchang’s reported share-price movement, this is historical performance rather than a guarantee of future returns. Taken together, the week’s institutional research activity highlighted two distinct investment narratives: the potential for domestic suppliers to benefit from advanced optical-testing demand, and the continued development of pharmaceutical CDMO services and capabilities. Company statements and reported financial metrics provide context for those narratives, while market outcomes remain uncertain.

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