Bayer's Pharma Beat Wins Over Two Bulls as Missouri Verdict Looms

Goldman Sachs lifted its price target on Bayer to 66 euros from 63.50 on Wednesday, keeping its "Buy" rating intact, according to media reports. The move puts the US investment bank in lockstep with UBS, which had raised its own target to 66 euros from 62 a day earlier while maintaining the same recommendation. Neither broker tied its decision to any single trading session.

The stock closed Tuesday at €55.46, up 2.6%, with Reuters attributing the positive market reaction to the pharmaceutical division's performance and the upgraded full-year outlook rather than to analyst activity. Shares added a further 2.5% today.

Pharma carries the quarter

Bayer's third-quarter 2026 results, released Tuesday, showed group revenue of €10.053 billion, a nominal increase of 4.1%. Stripping out currency and portfolio effects, sales grew 1.9%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for special items, rose 6.9% to €1.615 billion.

The pharmaceutical unit did the heavy lifting. Its revenue climbed 8.0% to €4.680 billion, roughly 5% ahead of the Vara Research consensus cited by Reuters, while divisional EBITDA before special items jumped 23.6%. Management also nudged up its outlook for the division's adjusted EBITDA margin, now guiding to a 25% to 27% range for 2026.

That showing underpinned a brighter group forecast. Bayer now expects full-year EBITDA before special items of €9.8 billion to €10.3 billion at constant currencies, up from the €9.6 billion to €10.1 billion previously flagged.

The bottom line remains under water, though the damage is narrowing. Bayer booked a net loss of €672 million for the quarter, an improvement on the €963 million shortfall recorded a year earlier.

Roundup settlement awaits a judge

Attention now shifts to Missouri, where the proposed $7.25 billion Roundup settlement was still under court review. CEO Bill Anderson said Tuesday he anticipated a judicial ruling before Christmas, Reuters reported.

The company has one recent courtroom win in its pocket. On 30 October, a Missouri jury ruled unanimously in favor of Bayer subsidiary Monsanto in a glyphosate case brought by three plaintiffs who alleged the weedkiller had caused their cancers. Bayer described it as the first Roundup trial since the US Supreme Court's ruling on the matter.