A profit warning from ACOTEC-B (06669) sent shockwaves through the market, with its stock price plunging over 15% in a single day. The company disclosed on August 12 that it expects a net loss of up to 80.9 million yuan for the first half of fiscal 2026, reversing from a net profit of 88.6 million yuan in the same period last year.
This sharp swing to a loss was primarily attributed to the termination of the U.S. clinical trial for its AcoArt Litos® paclitaxel-coated PTA balloon catheter. The decision resulted in a one-time non-cash impairment loss and associated provisions totaling approximately 151 million yuan.
On August 13, shares of ACOTEC-B opened lower and continued to slide, with losses exceeding 10% within the first hour. While the stock saw minor rebounds during the session, it traded below its daily average line, hitting an intraday low of 18.26% before closing down 15.33%. The selling pressure persisted into August 14, with the stock falling another 5.45% in early trading to a new yearly low of 6.16 Hong Kong dollars.
From Yearly High to Halved Value
The company's stock has now lost more than 50% of its value year-to-date. Based on its January 26 high of 15.32 Hong Kong dollars, the maximum decline has reached 59.79%. This downturn unfolded in three distinct technical phases.
From January to early February, the stock exhibited a topping pattern, oscillating around the upper Bollinger Bands. However, trading volume contracted compared to the second half of the previous year, signaling weakening buying momentum. The main catalyst during this period was the implementation of the sixth round of national centralized procurement for high-value medical consumables, which was finalized on January 13.
Between February and March, the stock entered a period of profit-taking. A "nine-day losing streak" from February 23 to March 5 saw shares trading near the lower Bollinger Band. A brief recovery occurred on March 26 after the company released its 2025 annual report, which showed a 128% year-over-year increase in net profit to 119 million yuan.
Overseas Expansion Faces Headwinds
Despite the strong earnings, the market remained focused on ACOTEC-B's overseas expansion strategy, a key driver of its valuation. Since Boston Scientific became a controlling shareholder in early 2023, the company's international progress has been closely watched. However, the 2025 annual report revealed that revenue from outside mainland China fell to 19.16 million yuan, down from 25.2 million yuan in 2024.
Investor sentiment further deteriorated in April and May as a shift in capital flows weighed on the stock. Southbound funds, which have been a stabilizing force for Hong Kong-listed healthcare stocks, increasingly rotated toward internet and banking sectors. This reduced the healthcare sector's share of total mainboard turnover from 7% at the start of the year to lower levels.
Key U.S. Clinical Program Abandoned
The most significant blow came in July when the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its final rule for the fiscal 2027 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System. The rule plans to eliminate the NTAP alternative pathway for breakthrough medical devices starting in fiscal 2028. This decision undermines the commercial viability of ACOTEC-B's AcoArt Litos®, which had received FDA breakthrough device designation.
Without adequate Medicare reimbursement support, the product's potential in the U.S. market became uncertain. At the same time, competitors have not stood still. Medtronic's IN.PACT series has accumulated long-term clinical data for below-the-knee indications, while Boston Scientific's own Ranger series has introduced lower-drug-load versions. BD's Lutonix series has also released data on a next-generation product for below-the-knee lesions.
The combination of these factors likely led ACOTEC-B to terminate its U.S. clinical trial for AcoArt Litos®, triggering the 151 million yuan in one-time charges that exceeded the company's entire net profit of 119 million yuan from the previous year.