Bayer's Asundexian Green Light Arrives as Wall Street Rewrites Its Targets
Published on 11/05/2026 at 03:02 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Bayer's shares are up 4.5% today, and this time the move rests on more than Roundup hopes. Two of the Street's biggest houses have lifted their price targets in the wake of the quarterly report, and a Chinese regulatory decision has handed the drugmaker a concrete milestone in its pharmaceutical pipeline.
Goldman Sachs raised its target to EUR 66 from EUR 63.50 while keeping its buy rating, according to media reports. UBS moved to the same EUR 66 mark from EUR 62, also reaffirming its buy call, as reported by dpa-AFX. Neither house changed its recommendation — only the number attached to it.
A Quarter That Gave Analysts Something to Work With
The numbers behind the revisions came in the prior session. Bayer reported group revenue of EUR 10.053 billion for the third quarter of 2026, a nominal increase of 4.1%. EBITDA before special items climbed 6.9% to EUR 1.615 billion — a faster pace than sales, which is the detail that matters for anyone judging earnings quality. On a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis, revenue grew 1.9%.
Pharmaceuticals did the heavy lifting. The division posted revenue of EUR 4.680 billion and lifted EBITDA before special items by 23.6% to EUR 1.292 billion. Adjusted group earnings per share came in at EUR 0.31. Bayer pointed to the strength of its pharma business — Nubeqa and Kerendia in particular — as the driver behind its improved full-year guidance, a reading Reuters also reported.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Bayer?
The rest of the group was less inspiring. Crop Science revenue fell 2.4% on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis to EUR 3.884 billion, while Consumer Health generated EUR 1.445 billion, up 0.1% on the same basis.
For the full year, management now expects currency-adjusted EBITDA before special items of between EUR 9.8 billion and EUR 10.3 billion. The free cash flow outlook was raised to a range of minus EUR 1.5 billion to minus EUR 0.5 billion — an improvement, but still firmly in negative territory.
China Clears the First Factor-XIa Inhibitor
Separately, China's drug regulator granted approval to Asundexian on 26 October for stroke prevention. Bayer described the compound as the world's first approved factor XIa inhibitor. That is a regulatory achievement, not a revenue line — and the distinction is worth holding onto after a session like this one. No financial contribution from the drug has been quantified, and none should be assumed yet.
One Courtroom Win Is Not a Clean Bill of Health
On the legal front, a Missouri jury unanimously cleared Bayer subsidiary Monsanto on 29 October in a Roundup case brought by three plaintiffs. The verdict covered claims of product design defect, fraud and negligence. It is a genuine procedural win. It is not evidence that the wider Roundup litigation is behind the company.
The temptation to bundle the operational beat, the analyst upgrades and the courtroom result into a single all-clear is one investors should resist. The EBITDA figure is stated before special items, which means it does not capture every charge the group carries. A stronger operating quarter is not the same as a comprehensive financial clean bill.
What the week does establish is a direction of travel: pharma is delivering, guidance has moved up, and two major houses have put their money behind the story. What it does not establish is permanence. Bayer still has to show that the improvement can be repeated, and the litigation overhang continues to warrant its own separate assessment — a good quarter does not make it disappear.
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