Fin Cascade

Prices as of 8 Oct 2026 close · Not investment advice

Alkem Laboratories Limited

NSE: ALKEMPharmaceuticals

Share price

₹5,249.50

-1.89% close of 8 Oct 2026

Market cap ₹62,994 CrP/E 27.7

Price-based ratios (P/B, dividend yield, EV/EBITDA) are as of 7 Oct 2026, the close above is 8 Oct 2026.

Business score

How strong the business is, in one number. The parts behind it are in Pro.

66

out of 100 · worked out 8 Oct 2026

Your ratios

The numbers you want to see first. Tap Edit to change them.

Market cap

₹62,994 Cr

P/E ratio

27.7

P/B ratio

4.5

ROCE

21.2%

ROE

18.9%

Dividend yield

1.0%

Price & valuation chart

How the share price and its valuation have moved. Hover over the chart to see any day. Prices as of the last close.

Prices as of 8 Oct 2026 close52-week high ₹5,890.0052-week low ₹5,087.50

Answers

Simple answers to the questions investors ask most, from the company's own numbers.

How fast it has been growing

Sales grew 13.4% over the past year, and 11.5% a year over its longer record. Meanwhile what it keeps of every 100 rupees of sales improved from 15.7% to 20.0% over the last four years.

Whether it grew faster than its sector

It grew 11.5% a year against a sector median of 13.1% — 1.6 percentage points slower.

Room to re-rate, or risk of de-rating

At 27.7× earnings against a market that pays 23.9× across 2199 companies we can price. Its own industry sits at 78.7×, across 5 companies. It is against its own five-year median of 28.1×, the 44th percentile of its own range.

Whether growth justifies the valuation

Priced at 0.9 times its growth rate, on earnings growth of 32%.

Profit growthPrice per ₹1 profitPer 1% growth
Alkem Laboratories Limited — this one32%/yr27.7×₹0.87
Sun Pharmaceutical13%/yr33.4×₹2.6
Divi's Laboratories13%/yr83.3×₹6.4
Torrent Pharmaceuticals22%/yr78.7×₹3.6
Zydus Lifesciences32%/yr23.1×₹0.72
Laurus Labs Limited4%/yr98.6×₹24.7

Compared with companies filed under the same label. That grouping comes from the exchange's filing category, so some of them may not be real rivals.

How it compares with its peers

Against companies the exchange files under the same label (Pharmaceuticals), it ranks 35 of 130 on returns, 64 of 127 on growth, 56 of 130 on margin. That grouping comes from the exchange's filing category, so some of them may not be real rivals.

What makes it hard to beat — and is that still true?

A narrow advantage: it earns 21.2% on capital, ahead of 73% of companies filed under the same label. That grouping comes from the exchange's filing category, so some of them may not be real rivals.

Whether its growth pays for itself

Yes — Over the last five years it made ₹8617 crore of cash from the business, spent ₹1866 crore on plant and equipment, and returned ₹3840 crore to lenders and shareholders. And the profit is real: of every 100 rupees it reported over 12 years, about 85 arrived as cash. Its cash comes back more slowly than it used to: it went from being waiting 31 days for its cash to waiting 123 days for its cash.

Profit reality check

Is the profit real cash? Simple checks on the accounts. Facts only, not advice.

8 of 9 checks clear · 89%

Latest result · Q1 FY27

What the last results showed. Whether management kept its word is in Pro.

Revenue grew 11%, while profit fell 22% because of a higher tax charge.

Announced 14 Aug 2026 · Consolidated · Unaudited

Revenue

₹3,740 Cr

Revenue vs last year

+11.0%

Revenue vs last quarter

+3.8%

Net profit

₹521 Cr

Profit vs last year

-22.0%

Profit vs last quarter

+107.6%

Net margin

13.9%

EPS

₹43.49

Earnings call transcript · 14 Aug 2026

Checklist before you investPRO

Points for and against, in one list.

Key numbers & peers

The main numbers grouped by topic, and how the company compares with similar ones.

Price

Market cap
₹62,994 Cr
Prev close
₹5,249.50
52w High
₹5,934
52w Low
₹5,051
Enterprise value
₹63,433 Cr
Beta
0.7
Price CAGR 1y
-3.0%
Price CAGR 3y
15.0%
Price CAGR 5y
6.0%
Price CAGR 10y
12.0%

Ratios

Return on assets
11.3%
PEG ratio
0.9
P/E ratio
27.7
P/B ratio
4.5
EV / EBITDA
21.7
Industry P/E
38.0
ROCE
21.2%
ROCE 5y average
18.6%
ROE
18.9%
Debt / Equity
0.1
Interest coverage
18.8
Dividend yield
1.0%
ROE 3y average
19.0%
ROE last year
19.0%

Annual P&L

Annual revenue
₹14,712 Cr
Annual profit
₹2,351 Cr
Operating margin
20.0%
Net profit margin
16.0%
EBITDA margin
20.4%
Sales growth 3y
8.2%
Sales growth 5y
10.7%
Profit growth 3y
32.0%
Profit growth 5y
9.0%
EPS
₹193
Sales growth TTM
13.0%
Profit growth TTM
0.0%
Dividend payout
28.0%

Quarter P&L

Sales latest quarter
₹3,740 Cr
Profit latest quarter
₹521 Cr
YoY quarterly sales growth
10.9%
YoY quarterly profit growth
-22.0%
OPM latest quarter
20.5%

Balance Sheet

Book Value
₹1,152
Face Value
₹2.0
Total debt
₹2,047 Cr
Total cash
₹1,733 Cr
Borrowings
₹2,047 Cr
Reserves / Equity
574.8

Cash Flow

Operating cash flow
₹1,963 Cr
Free cash flow
₹1,476 Cr
FCF yield
2.1%
Net cash flow
-₹222 Cr

Shareholding

Promoter holding
49.7%
FII holding
10.4%
DII holding
22.6%
Public holding
17.3%

Peer comparison

CompanyPrice ₹P/EMkt cap ₹ CrDiv yield %Profit qtr ₹ CrProfit var %Sales qtr ₹ CrSales var %ROCE %
Sun Pharma.Inds.1,781.0033.94,28,0570.902,901.26.015,299.910.520.5
Divi's Lab.9,588.0085.52,54,6650.31902.065.53,080.027.822.0
Torrent Pharma.4,716.2080.31,79,1640.81566.05.84,921.054.915.2
Zydus Lifesci.1,153.0023.61,14,9630.09990.2-35.18,017.022.021.1
Laurus Labs2,052.80101.31,10,6990.10362.1125.52,026.329.117.8
Cipla1,327.2029.91,06,9970.98785.6-39.27,119.32.315.5
Mankind Pharma2,500.0048.71,03,8760.04574.129.64,030.612.913.5
Alkem Lab5,350.5028.364,3270.99521.0-20.53,740.210.921.2
Median417.9034.42,2080.0713.529.5164.018.415.0

Competes with: Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla, Divi's Laboratories, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Laurus Labs Limited, Lupin, Mankind Pharma Limited, Sun Pharmaceutical, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Zydus Lifesciences

Quarterly results

Sales and profit for each of the last 13 quarters. Newest on the right. ₹ crore.

Consolidated · to 30 Jun 2026
Line itemJun 2023Sep 2023Dec 2023Mar 2024Jun 2024Sep 2024Dec 2024Mar 2025Jun 2025Sep 2025Dec 2025Mar 2026Jun 2026
Sales2,9683,4403,3242,9363,0323,4153,3743,1443,3714,0013,7373,6033,740
Expenses2,5792,6932,6162,5342,4232,6622,6152,7522,6323,0802,9093,0862,974
Material Cost777827906938895910
Change in Inventories122-53246.98-145-75
Purchases of Stock-in-Trade380397472328498366
Employee Cost616693710722712809
Other Expenses8577689699151,126964
Operating Profit389747708402609753759391739921828517766
OPM %13222114202223122223221420
Other Income6664276120134931461491049065153
Exceptional items (within Other Income)0130-53-1350
Interest30302527292836283035425447
Depreciation72747083807985112889495106100
Profit before tax353648655367619780731396771896781423772
Tax %185817111012181313164032
Net Profit288615604304550702641322668779653251521
EPS in Rs24525025465852265664532043
Diluted EPS in Rs265664532043

Profit & loss

Yearly sales, costs and profit for 12 years, plus the last 12 months (TTM). ₹ crore.

Consolidated · to 31 Mar 2026
Line itemMar 2015Mar 2016Mar 2017Mar 2018Mar 2019Mar 2020Mar 2021Mar 2022Mar 2023Mar 2024Mar 2025Mar 2026TTM
Sales3,6744,9055,6886,4017,3578,3448,86510,63411,59912,66812,96514,71215,081
Expenses3,2484,0384,6875,3926,2376,8686,9208,5809,97710,41910,45211,70612,049
Material Cost3,4403,565
Change in Inventories-190-167
Purchases of Stock-in-Trade1,5141,695
Employee Cost2,4542,837
Other Expenses3,2343,777
Operating Profit4278661,0011,0091,1201,4761,9452,0541,6222,2492,5123,0073,032
OPM %12181816151822191418192020
Other Income17622711011582102230146101186494407412
Exceptional items (within Other Income)0-175
Interest8171455555655952107112122161178
Depreciation7193101143193253275304310299357382395
Profit before tax4519289659269551,2601,8421,8441,3052,0232,5272,8712,872
Tax %131963119912923101218
Net Profit3927529056387741,1491,6181,6801,0071,8112,2152,3512,204
EPS in Rs33627553649413313882150181193180
Diluted EPS in Rs181193
Dividend Payout %122020252527232561272528

Compounded growth

Average yearly growth over different spans, as stored. A span can cross a demerger or an acquisition.

Compounded sales growth

10 years
12%
5 years
11%
3 years
8%
TTM
13%

Compounded profit growth

10 years
12%
5 years
9%
3 years
32%
TTM
0%

Stock price CAGR

10 years
12%
5 years
6%
3 years
15%
1 year
-3%

Return on equity

10 years
18%
5 years
18%
3 years
19%
Last year
19%

Balance sheet

What the company owns and what it owes, at the end of each year. ₹ crore.

Consolidated
Line itemMar 2015Mar 2016Mar 2017Mar 2018Mar 2019Mar 2020Mar 2021Mar 2022Mar 2023Mar 2024Mar 2025Mar 2026
Equity Capital242424242424242424242424
Reserves2,9753,6684,4444,8405,4156,1377,3538,6149,02110,28811,96113,796
Borrowings1,3066586599989441,6161,7072,6681,3971,4181,3812,047
Other Liabilities9861,1841,4401,8031,8242,1692,4352,7633,3153,8444,3254,991
Minority Interest449529
Total Liabilities5,2915,5346,5687,6648,2089,94611,51914,06913,75715,57517,69120,858
Fixed Assets1,3741,4501,7972,2842,5302,9082,7932,9022,6832,8732,8523,871
CWIP111172299381493363393339323159548282
Investments4815095534443242613333716224841,8461,869
Other Assets3,3253,4033,9184,5554,8616,4138,00010,45710,12912,06012,44514,836
Total Assets5,2915,5346,5687,6648,2089,94611,51914,06913,75715,57517,69120,873

Cash flows

Real money coming in and going out each year — from the business, from investments and from loans. ₹ crore.

Consolidated
Line itemMar 2015Mar 2016Mar 2017Mar 2018Mar 2019Mar 2020Mar 2021Mar 2022Mar 2023Mar 2024Mar 2025Mar 2026
Cash from Operating Activity3257264712667805851,2651,1111,6821,9481,9131,963
Cash from Investing Activity-235205-294-351-318-737-995-1,433120-1,011-1,288-1,682
Cash from Financing Activity-52-927-13885-37979-272380-1,761-1,145-811-503
Net Cash Flow39340082-73-25842-207-186-222
Free Cash Flow190472-163-4112532371,1167831,4531,7611,2781,476

Ratios

How fast customers pay, how long stock sits, and how well capital earns — year by year.

Consolidated
Line itemMar 2015Mar 2016Mar 2017Mar 2018Mar 2019Mar 2020Mar 2021Mar 2022Mar 2023Mar 2024Mar 2025Mar 2026
Debtor Days524246626272666567656974
Inventory Days169169198221186198241262194197224239
Days Payable10110812214711910411210287129148161
Cash Conversion Cycle121103122135129167196225174132145152
Working Capital Days-521334405544483166135123123
ROCE %122321171618221814202021

Shareholding pattern

Who owns the company — founders (promoters), foreign funds, Indian funds and the public. In %.

Consolidated · to 30 Jun 2026
Line itemSep 2023Dec 2023Mar 2024Jun 2024Sep 2024Dec 2024Mar 2025Jun 2025Sep 2025Dec 2025Mar 2026Jun 2026
Promoters575757565656555351515150
FIIs6.038.499.118.699.02109.409.119.479.971010
DIIs181616191918192222222123
Public201919161616161617171717
No. of Shareholders69,44265,18465,83069,62774,74484,03884,32679,74067,19664,53662,83562,822

Price trend

The price as a Renko brick chart: small moves drop out so the bigger path stands out.

Change over 1 year -4.2% (₹5,480.50 → ₹5,249.50)Brick size ₹127.03 (fixed)Bricks 23
₹5,000₹5,500₹5,250Dec '25Feb '26Apr '26Aug '26
Price moved up one brickPrice moved down one brickLast close ₹5,249.50 on 8 Oct 2026

Every brick is the same size, about one typical day's move. A new brick needs a full brick's move; turning the other way needs two. Bricks show where the price went, not where it will go.

Open interestPRO

Where option traders are positioned on this stock.

Industry numbers

The numbers that matter most in this industry, from the company's own filings.

1 when an audit qualification is filed as repetitive

0.00flag

2026-03-31

the company's own unlisted debt securities in default at period end

0.00cr

2026-06-30

the company's own loans / revolving facilities in default at period end (standalone filing)

0.00cr

2026-06-30

total loans / revolving facilities outstanding at period end, the base of loan_default_cr

0.00cr

2026-06-30

guarantees / comfort given for promoter, promoter group, directors and KMP

0.00cr

2026-03-31

loans outstanding to promoter, promoter group, directors and KMP (governance filing)

0.00cr

2026-03-31

security given for the borrowing of promoter, promoter group, directors and KMP

0.00cr

2026-03-31

R&D as % of revenue

4.00pct

2026-06-30

FY revenue / permanent employees + workers, same basis (calc)

49,95,301inr

2026-03-31

News

News and filings about Alkem Laboratories Limited. Open one to see why it matters.

No recent news for this company.

Supply chain

Who it buys from, sells to and competes with — as recorded in our map of company links.

Uses as raw material

  • Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Materials
  • Packaging materials

Buys from

About

What the company is, from our own records: where it sits, where it makes things, and what it is made of.

Sector
Healthcare
Industry
Pharmaceuticals
Classification
Healthcare › Pharmaceuticals
ISIN
INE540L01014

Plants

  • Ankleshwar API facility · Ankleshwar, Gujarat
  • Baddi formulations facilities
  • Daman formulations facilities
  • Mandva API & FOS facility
  • Norac Pharma (US API site)
  • Pune biosimilars facility
  • Sikkim formulations facilities

News impact

Big market events that reach Alkem Laboratories Limited, and how the effect spreads.

25 Sept, 15:08 IST · Market event · high impact

Alkem Laboratories CFO Nitin Agrawal resigns

Alkem Laboratories' finance chief resigned, which may hurt Alkem's shares on governance worries while rivals and suppliers see little effect.

Healthcare

Who it hits first

  • Alkem Laboratories, the drug maker, loses its finance chief as Nitin Agrawal resigns to pursue personal and professional growth.
  • Investors face short-term uncertainty over financial reporting and capital plans until a successor is named.
  • Day-to-day medicine sales and factory work continue, so the hit is to confidence, not to current revenue.

Who may gain

  • No clear stock-market winner — rival drug makers such as Sun Pharmaceutical, Divi's Laboratories and Cipla gain no prescriptions or tenders from a competitor's finance-chief exit.
  • Executive-search firms see a small opportunity as Alkem Laboratories, the drug maker, hunts for a new finance chief.

Along the supply chain

Downstream

No downstream change — distributors and pharmacies receive the same stock; finance-leadership news does not alter supply or prices.

Upstream

No upstream change — ingredient and packaging suppliers keep the same orders since Alkem factories keep running.

Where demand moves

Business

No business demand shifts — hospitals, chemists and patients buy the same Alkem medicines; the event moves investor confidence, not prescriptions.

Capital

Capital may rotate briefly away from Alkem into larger pharma names as a caution trade, then return once a credible successor is named.

How it spreads across sectors

Healthcare

Mild sentiment wobble for pharma shares as investors dislike finance-chief exits; fades in days without further news.

When it plays out

Immediate

1-7 days: Alkem shares wobble on governance talk; rivals and suppliers stay flat.

Medium term

1-6 months: effect fades once the new finance chief sets a steady reporting rhythm; no lasting sales impact seen.

Short term

1-4 weeks: focus on the successor search and any auditor comment; calm if the handover looks clean.

1 Sept, 04:32 IST · Market event · high impact

Trump squeezes mid-size pharma for cheaper US drug prices in a $64 billion savings push, and Sun Pharma agrees to lower its US prices

The White House got nine mid-sized drug companies, including India's Sun Pharma, to agree to charge Americans no more than the lowest price they charge in other rich countries. That caps the most profitable part of Sun Pharma's US business, though past versions of this policy have not actually hurt Indian drugmakers' share prices.

Healthcare

Who it hits first

  • Sun Pharma's US specialty franchise, its highest-margin business, now carries an explicit price ceiling under the agreement it signed.
  • Other US-exposed Indian drugmakers face the headline risk that branded price compression eventually transmits to generic pricing.

Who may gain

  • Generic and active-ingredient suppliers can gain volume if the policy pushes prescriptions toward cheaper medicines - Granules, which sells ingredients and finished doses to US generic makers, rose 11.20% in the week after the May 2025 most-favoured-nation order.
  • Aurobindo Pharma is running a live offsetting positive: its Lannett subsidiary has just launched generic Advair Diskus, a complex inhalation product that carries far better pricing than ordinary generics.
  • Domestically skewed drugmakers such as Alkem are relatively insulated, because a smaller share of their revenue is exposed to US pricing at all.

Along the supply chain

Downstream

US pharmacy benefit managers, insurers and ultimately American patients are the downstream beneficiaries of lower prices. For Indian exporters the practical downstream effect is on contract renewal terms with US distributors and pharmacy chains, which reset annually rather than immediately.

Upstream

Active pharmaceutical ingredient makers sit one layer above the pricing pressure. If US branded prices fall, formulators squeeze their ingredient suppliers on cost, but if the policy also shifts prescription volume toward cheaper generics, the number of doses made goes up - which is what an ingredient supplier gets paid for. Granules sits squarely at this junction, which is why its direction is mixed rather than negative.

Where demand moves

Business

Volume of medicine consumed does not change - people take the same drugs - so this reallocates value along the chain rather than destroying demand. Money moves from branded manufacturers' margins to US payers and patients. Where prescriptions shift from branded to generic alternatives, volume moves toward Indian generic suppliers, which is the mechanism behind the consistently positive historical reaction.

Capital

Within Indian pharma, capital rotates from US-specialty-heavy names such as Sun Pharma toward domestically skewed names such as Alkem and toward complex-generic stories such as Aurobindo Pharma. Because the historical base rate is flat-to-positive, the rotation has been mild rather than a sector-wide de-rating.

How it spreads across sectors

Healthcare

US specialty pricing capped; generic and active-ingredient volumes potentially supported; domestically skewed drugmakers relatively insulated.

When it plays out

Immediate

Sun Pharma opens weaker on the specialty pricing cap; the wider Indian pharma complex is likely to be muted rather than sold off, based on the base rate.

Medium term

The real risk is cumulative: successive orders capping US branded prices, adding pharmaceutical import tariffs and pressuring generic pricing together would eventually compress the US profit pool Indian exporters draw on, even though no single announcement has done so yet.

Short term

Watch which other Indian companies sign most-favoured-nation deals and on what terms. Watch whether the separate generic tariff proposal from July 2026 advances, because that channel HAS produced negative day-one reactions where the pricing orders have not.

Who it hits first

  • CIPLA, ALKEM, ZYDUSLIFE shares gained on the report
  • Incremental US revenue opportunity in oncology generics

Who may gain

  • ALKEM, ZYDUSLIFE, CIPLA directly named — strongest signals
  • Capital rotation lifts LUPIN, DRREDDY, AUROPHARMA

Along the supply chain

Downstream

US hospitals + oncology pharmacies receive supply relief on critical molecules; insurance reimbursement at FDA-tendered rates

Upstream

Indian API suppliers (Divi's Labs, Suven Pharma) see incremental order flow from ramped-up formulation demand

Where demand moves

Business

US oncology drug demand (shortage-driven) routes to FDA-approved Indian ANDA holders — Cipla, Alkem, Zydus first in line; later spills to Lupin, Dr Reddy's, Aurobindo as supply scales

Capital

Pharma rotation: capital flows into US-exposed generic Indian formulators; mid-cap pharma sees largest re-rating room

How it spreads across sectors

Healthcare

sentiment positive for India-pharma exporters

Pharma

broad positive lift on US-exposed generic names

When it plays out

Immediate

1-3% pop in named tickers on the day; 5-10% over week 1

Medium term

If FDA supply pact becomes structural, ANDA-rich Indian formulators see permanent US-revenue uplift; sector re-rating sustained

Short term

Formal tender allocation in 2-4 weeks; revenue contribution from Q2-Q3 FY27

Who it hits first

  • Manufacturers of the 16 banned FDC formulations — primarily mid-tier OTC/branded acute players (cold/cough/analgesic combos)
  • Most listed names: <1% revenue exposure individually

Who may gain

  • Single-molecule branded pharma (ABBOTINDIA, GSK PHARMA, PFIZER) — prescription rotation potential
  • MNC pharma with cleaner portfolios

Along the supply chain

Downstream

Pharmacy retailers (APOLLOHOSP, MEDPLUS, NETMEDS) face brief inventory rebalancing; minimal revenue impact.

Upstream

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) suppliers for the banned combos see minor demand reduction — limited impact as same APIs are used in single-molecule formulations.

Where demand moves

Business

FDC ban removes ~16 specific formulations from market — prescribers switch to single-molecule alternatives or non-banned FDCs; net demand displacement, not destruction.

Capital

Sentiment-driven mild sell-off in OTC-heavy names (MANKIND, CIPLA); rotation into MNC-style branded pharma (ABBOTINDIA, GSKPH).

How it spreads across sectors

Healthcare

Modest negative for FDC-heavy MNCs; positive for single-molecule MNCs

Pharma

Mild negative for OTC/branded-acute heavy players; neutral for specialty/US-generics focused

When it plays out

Immediate

Monday open: mild selling pressure on MANKIND, CIPLA — likely -1-2% as market gauges actual exposure

Medium term

Pattern of FDC bans accelerating — sector earnings models stress higher recurring regulatory cost

Short term

Pharma companies issue impact statements; specific FDC contribution to revenue clarified

Who it hits first

  • Alkem faces 2-4% overhang on promoter dilution signal
  • Institutional absorption (Goldman, Morgan Stanley) provides bid support

Who may gain

  • Peer pharma names (Lupin, Sun, Zydus) on modest sector rotation

Along the supply chain

Downstream

No supply-chain link — capital-flow event

Upstream

No supply-chain link — capital-flow event

Where demand moves

Business

No direct business-demand impact — pure capital event

Capital

Float increases supply; institutional buyers (GS, MS) absorb at deal price; broader pharma flow modestly improved

How it spreads across sectors

Pharma

Mild positive sector flow; peer-rotation benefits Lupin, Zydus, Sun

Dividends, splits & big trades

Money paid out, share splits and buybacks, and big buys or sells by funds and insiders.

Dividends

7 Aug 2026unspecified₹10
20 Feb 2026interim₹43
8 Aug 2025unspecified₹8
14 Feb 2025interim₹37
9 Aug 2024unspecified₹5
16 Feb 2024interim₹35
10 Aug 2023unspecified₹10
17 Feb 2023special₹25

Splits, bonuses & buybacks

  • daily-prices repair: 8 rows from NSE's archive (replace 1, delete 0, insert 7), 2016-10-30..2026-02-01 (docs/flat_day_repair.md)1× · 30 Oct 2016

Bulk & block deals

DateWhoBought / soldSharesPrice
2 Jun 2026JAYANTI SINHASELL12,38,220₹5,200.00
2 Jun 2026ICICI PRUDENTIAL MUTUAL FUNDBUY9,03,527₹5,200.00

Documents

Annual reports, results presentations and earnings calls, straight from the source.

Facts from company filings and exchange data. Not investment advice: nothing here tells you to buy or sell.