Novartis Gears Up for October 27 Results With 46 MS Abstracts, a $575 Million mRNA Bet, and Split Analyst Verdicts

Novartis will report Q3 and nine-month results on October 27, as remibrutinib MS data and an Abogen mRNA deal shape its pipeline story.

Novartis has confirmed it will publish detailed third-quarter and nine-month financial results on October 27, giving investors a hard set of operating numbers to weigh against a pipeline story that has been moving on several fronts at once.

A Heavy Presence in Toronto

The Basel-based drugmaker said Wednesday it will mount a broad showing at the MSToronto2026 specialist congress, with 46 scientific abstracts drawn from its multiple sclerosis portfolio. Late-stage readouts from the registration-relevant Phase III REMODEL-1 and REMODEL-2 trials of remibrutinib sit at the heart of the presentations, and the company has scheduled a separate virtual investor event to walk through the new data.

Those analyses mark a significant step for Novartis's neurology pipeline. Remibrutinib already holds US Food and Drug Administration approval under the brand name Rhapsido, cleared for adults with symptomatic dermographism whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by H1 antihistamines — a label that extended the drug's use beyond chronic spontaneous urticaria. The multiple sclerosis data now target a further large indication.

mRNA Deal Adds a Second Growth Track

While its own trials advance, Novartis moved earlier this month to bolster its autoimmune development pipeline through outside partnerships. On October 2 the group struck a worldwide license and option agreement with Abogen Biosciences covering the ABO2203 program.

The pact hands Novartis exclusive global rights to an mRNA-encoded CD19×CD3 T-cell engager, along with options on additional programs from the RNA platform. Abogen said it will receive a $575 million upfront payment; should all options be exercised, milestone payments of up to roughly $7.2 billion could follow, with royalties also provided for.

That payment structure matters for how the deal should be read. The upfront sum represents Novartis's immediate financial commitment, whereas the larger figure describes a potential future volume under the agreed terms — not a total already due. The arrangement covers an experimental candidate and therefore does not yet constitute commercial success; the upcoming earnings report, by contrast, will deliver actual business figures and a different basis for valuation than prospective milestones or price targets.

Two Houses, Two Directions

Ahead of the quarterly numbers, institutional research desks have staked out opposing positions. On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley's Thibault Boutherin cut his price target on Novartis to $156 from $170 while keeping an "Overweight" rating as part of a reassessment of the risk-reward profile — a lower target that did not come with a downgrade.

Goldman Sachs took the more cautious line. On October 1, analyst James Quigley nudged his target up to CHF 113 from CHF 110 but left his "Sell" rating in place, according to dpa-AFX. Quigley saw third-quarter operating expectations broadly in line with market consensus and pointed chiefly to the strategic picture beyond 2030.

The two calls offer no single directional read on the stock. A target adjustment is not automatically a change of stance on the company, and the differing target currencies mean the two figures cannot be compared directly.

Where the Shares Stand

The stock closed Friday at EUR 127.90, a modest daily gain of 0.7%, and is up 8.2% since the start of the year. Market participants will get clarity on the latest revenue and profit trend on October 27, when Novartis releases the detailed figures for the third quarter and the first nine months.