Analysts say American multinational Pfizer Inc's PE is over 80 times in the US with market cap exceeding $175 billion. The US giant is also said to have initiated a $5 billion buyback plan overseas. "At the current price of Rs 1,100, PE is 38 times earnings in India, while the PE multiple of Pfizer Inc is more than double. So we expect a lot of action, given the huge untapped potential and the fact that Pfizer has yet to bring in its big drugs into India," an analyst at a leading stock broking firm said.

The American mulinational had also, on January 28, stated, "Barring unusual circumstances, its board of directors willvote on a three-for-one split of Pfizer common stock in the form of a stock dividend on April 22 in the US".

Pfizer's local spokesperson, while maintaining that the company had no firm plans to increase its holding in the local arm, added, "It's all a question of the business environment subsequent to intellectual property rights being enforced in India. We will have to wait for such time and then review our options".

Post budget, the scrips of all three multinationals -- Pfizer, Parke Davis, SmithKline Beecham Pharma (like several others) -- have registered a significant upward price movement, though part of the optimism is due to expectations on the passage of the patents bill in this session of parliament and the finance minister's statement to reduce the "rigours of price control". Industry is, however, keeping its fingers crossed that no new additions are made, in the interim, to the list of controlled drugs, in keeping with the true spirit of the finance minister's statement.

The Pfizer scrip,which opened at Rs 1,089 on Monday, closed the day at Rs 1,109.75 on the BSE. Parke Davis, the Indian arm of Warner Lambert, saw share prices vault to over Rs 420.25 while SmithKline Beecham Pharma share prices jumped to Rs 614.50 after opening the day at Rs 593 on Monday on the BSE.

However, experts say, "Cost factors" may restrict the attractiveness of the 74 per cent direct FDI approval mainly to new entrants. "Existing companies may not gain much from this proposal, given that it would entail dispropotionately huge investments to increase equity holding from say 40 per cent to 74 per cent, at market prices. But the proposal would certainly be attractive for possible new entrants like Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck and other smaller companies from Korea, Japan, Europe," an expert said.