Eckert and Ziegler

Eckert and Ziegler SE (Frankfurt: EUZ, Prime Standard) is a Berlin-headquartered isotope-technology company founded in 1992 by Andreas Eckert and Juergen Ziegler. The company is one of the largest pure-play radioisotope suppliers globally, operating across two segments. Medical (approximately 55 percent of revenue) supplies Lutetium-177 (Lu-177) and Actinium-225 (Ac-225) precursor isotopes to large-pharma radiopharmaceutical developers (notably Novartis as the Pluvicto Lu-177-PSMA supplier), contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services for radiopharmaceutical clinical trials, plus the legacy iodine-125 (I-125) prostate-brachytherapy seeds and eye-applicator business. Isotope Products (approximately 45 percent of revenue) supplies calibration sources, industrial radioisotopes (Co-57, Cu-67, Ga-68, Y-90, F-18 precursors), positron-emission-tomography (PET) cyclotron services, and well-logging sources for the oil-and-gas industry.

The investment thesis pivots on the theranostics wave: targeted radioligand therapy that pairs a tumor-binding antibody or small molecule with a therapeutic radioisotope (Lu-177 for prostate, neuroendocrine; Ac-225 for next-generation alpha therapy). Novartis Pluvicto (Lu-177-PSMA-617 for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer) was approved by the FDA in March 2022 and reached approximately 1.4 billion USD in 2025 revenue with line of sight to 4 to 6 billion USD by 2030 as the label expands to earlier-line prostate cancer indications. Eckert and Ziegler is one of the small handful of global suppliers of Lu-177 precursor isotope and has an exclusive multi-year supply contract with Novartis for the Berlin and Boston production sites.

The capacity expansion story is the operational anchor. Eckert and Ziegler is investing approximately 200 million EUR cumulatively 2024 to 2027 in new Lu-177, Ac-225 and F-18 production capacity at Berlin-Buch, Wilmington (US), and Plzen (Czech Republic). The new Berlin Lu-177 plant tripled capacity in Q3 2024 (capable of supplying 30 to 40 patient doses per week of Pluvicto-grade Lu-177). The Ac-225 capacity build-out at Berlin (smaller but higher-value alpha-emitter for next-gen therapeutics) reaches first commercial output in H1 2026.

Revenue 2025 reached 317 million EUR (plus 7.0 percent year over year — a slowdown from the 18 percent CAGR 2020 to 2023 due to the legacy I-125 prostate seeds business decline and short-cycle Pluvicto demand timing). Operating margin 21.9 percent, net margin 15.6 percent, return on equity 19.8 percent. The August 2024 spinoff of the Pentixapharm subsidiary (the in-house radiopharmaceutical-development pipeline, including the CXCR4-targeted Lu-177-pentixather for B-cell malignancies) created a separate Frankfurt-listed entity in which Eckert and Ziegler retains an approximately 60 percent strategic stake.

The controlling family shareholder is Andreas Eckert personally (co-founder, current Supervisory Board chair after stepping down as CEO in 2021), holding approximately 23 percent of Eckert and Ziegler shares via the personal Eckert Wagniskapital GmbH vehicle and direct holdings. Andreas Eckert has not sold meaningfully since the 2022 share split and is structurally locked. CEO Harald Hasselmann (appointed January 2021, formerly co-CEO) holds approximately 0.4 percent and has made consistent open-market purchases (most recently 5,000 shares at 13.50 EUR in February 2026).

Institutional ownership is concentrated in German specialist funds and a small number of international healthcare-specialist holders. DJE Kapital (Munich-based family-office manager Jens Ehrhardt) holds approximately 4.5 percent across DJE Dividende and Aktien Plus mandates and has added during the 2025 derating from 35 EUR to 13 EUR. DWS Group holds approximately 3.2 percent across DWS Akkumula and DWS Top Dividende. Union Investment holds approximately 2.8 percent in UniGlobal and UniMid and Small Caps. Berenberg Wealth Management holds approximately 2.1 percent across European healthcare-focused mandates.

International long-only buyers include Wellington Management at approximately 3.4 percent (added Q3 2025 thesis of theranostics infrastructure value), Capital Group at approximately 2.6 percent in Capital World Growth and Income, and BlackRock at approximately 2.1 percent across passive small-cap healthcare ETFs. Polar Capital Healthcare Discovery Fund disclosed a 1.4 percent position in Q4 2025 — first new entry of a specialist biotech holder in 18 months. Short interest at the 2025 to 2026 derating moved up briefly to 4.5 percent but has compressed to below 1 percent as the Lu-177 production scaling executed.

Eckert and Ziegler trades at 18.2x trailing P/E and 16.0x forward EPS 2026 of 0.90 EUR — well below the 25 to 35x peak multiples 2017 to 2022 and below the niche-pharma-services peer median of 22 to 28x. EV to EBITDA of 9.1x on guided 2026 EBITDA midpoint of 75 to 80 million EUR is at meaningful discount to specialty-pharma-CDMO peers (Lonza 16x, Indena 14x, Recipharm 13x). PEG ratio of 0.91 reflects the depressed multiple and ongoing growth expectations. Price-to-book of 3.58x. Sell-side targets range from 12 EUR (Berenberg, bear case with Lu-177 competitive pricing pressure) to 25 EUR (Hauck Aufhaeuser, bull case with full Ac-225 commercial scale and Novartis Pluvicto 6 billion USD peak). Fair value at 20 to 23 EUR implies a 39 to 60 percent upside from the current 14.40 EUR. Dividend yield 1.53 percent at a 21 percent payout ratio.

1. Q2 2026: Ac-225 first commercial output from Berlin capacity expansion — initial revenue contribution print
2. H2 2026: Novartis Pluvicto label-expansion PSMAfore Phase 3 readout — confirms 4 to 6 billion USD by 2030 peak revenue thesis
3. FY 2026 results: Capex peak completion and free cash flow margin recovery from 8 to 10 percent toward 14 to 16 percent

EUZ.DE is the cleanest pure-play on the theranostics radioisotope-supply infrastructure with the Andreas Eckert family 23 percent lock providing structural long-term alignment. The 84 percent peak-to-trough drawdown from 70 EUR to 13 EUR has overcompressed the multiple to 16x forward and 9.1x EV-EBITDA — well below historical premium and below specialty-pharma-CDMO peers. The bull case is the convergence of Novartis Pluvicto label expansion to 4 to 6 billion USD by 2030 plus the Ac-225 alpha-radioligand wave reaching commercial supply 2026 to 2028 — supporting Medical segment revenue scaling from 175 million EUR to 320 to 400 million EUR by 2028 at 23 to 27 percent operating margin. The bear case is plausible — legacy I-125 secular decline, single-customer-concentration on Novartis, capex-cycle margin compression — but the entry price at 14.40 EUR already discounts most of those risks. I size EUZ.DE at 1 to 1.5 percent as an asymmetric quality-growth healthcare holding with 18-month target of 22 to 26 EUR and multi-year potential to 38 to 48 EUR if Ac-225 commercial conversion happens. Risk-reward is asymmetric — downside to 11 EUR if Novartis renegotiates Lu-177 supply, upside to 35 EUR plus on full Ac-225 ramp.