Siemens Healthineers Hits 52-Week Low as Goldman Axes Target but JPMorgan Stays Bullish

Siemens Healthineers hits year-low of €33.49 after Q2 miss, cuts full-year guidance amid diagnostics 'perfect storm' in China; management embarks on roadshows to reassure investors.

Siemens Healthineers is trying to steady itself after a brutal stretch. The stock has slumped to 33.49 euros, its lowest point in a year, as the company wrestles with a diagnostics business that CEO Bernd Montag described as caught in a “perfect storm.” The shares have lost nearly a quarter of their value since the start of 2024, and the mood on the trading floor remains cautious ahead of the third-quarter report due at the end of July.

The damage was triggered by second-quarter results that fell short of expectations. Revenue came in at 5.68 billion euros, below the 5.77 billion euros analysts had penciled in and 3.88 percent lower than the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share slipped to 0.45 euros from 0.48 euros, while the adjusted operating result reached 836 million euros — also shy of forecasts.

The root of the trouble is the diagnostics division, particularly in China. Comparable sales there dropped 6.5 percent, hit by changes in reimbursement rates and a shift toward volume-based procurement that is squeezing prices. The company has blamed a combination of internal restructuring and external market headwinds, and the pain is now forcing a downward revision of the full-year outlook.

Management now sees comparable revenue growth of 4.5 to 5.0 percent for the fiscal year, down from the previous range, and adjusted earnings per share of 2.20 to 2.30 euros — the earlier forecast had stretched as high as 2.40 euros. That has dented the growth narrative, even if the numbers still represent an expansion.

Against this backdrop, the management team is hitting the road. Roadshows with UBS and J.P. Morgan are scheduled for London, Paris and the United States on Monday and Tuesday this week, an effort to reassure institutional investors that the core business — imaging and Varian’s cancer therapy franchise — remains solid. The hope is that those segments can offset the diagnostics drag.

Technically, the stock has shown a modest sign of life. On Monday, the chart printed a hammer candlestick near the low, a pattern that sometimes hints at a potential stabilisation. But technicians caution that follow-through buying is needed to confirm any reversal. For now, the stock is trading more than 22 percent below its 200-day moving average and well under both the 50-day and 100-day lines — clear signals of persistent selling pressure.

Analysts are split on what comes next. Goldman Sachs has kept its neutral rating but cut its price target to 42 euros from 45 euros, citing the weaker earnings momentum and limited upside. Richard Felton, the Goldman analyst, noted that the stock now has far less room to recover from current levels.

J.P. Morgan, however, remains overweight with a 55.80-euro target, betting that the so-called synergistic core — imaging and Varian — will continue to perform well and eventually outweigh the diagnostics headache. The bank points to the planned deconsolidation from Siemens as a strategic catalyst; a formal vote on a direct spin-off is expected at next year’s annual general meetings.

In the near term, the 33.49-euro level is the line in the sand. If the stock can stabilise there, the roadshows may carry more conviction. If it cracks lower, the debate will shift back to China, diagnostics and the trimmed outlook — exactly what the management team is trying to avoid.