FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Following two buy recommendations, Bayer shares are in high demand on Wednesday morning. The Leverkusen-based company's shares climbed to over €27 on the Tradegate trading platform before the market opened, their highest level since October 2024. They had previously closed just below this level twice.
Investment banks HSBC and Kepler Cheuvreux are now voting "buy" with price targets of up to €33. According to Kepler's comprehensive analysis of the agricultural chemicals industry, most of the worst-case scenarios for the US litigation and all of the DAX-listed company's operational problems have long been factored into the share price. The experts even put the litigation risk at €15 billion in their valuation model, up from €10 billion previously, and still recommend buying shares in one of the world's leading agrochemical companies. In addition, the company has a solid pharmaceuticals and healthcare portfolio.
Above all, the US litigation surrounding the weed killer glyphosate has already cost Bayer billions. Added to this are lawsuits concerning the health effects of the chemical PCB, which has been banned for decades and was previously sold by Monsanto. Bayer acquired both with the Monsanto takeover.
In the summer of 2018, Bayer lost a first lawsuit over alleged cancer risks from glyphosate, which set off a flood of lawsuits. Since then, the share price has been on a downward trend. Despite the recent recovery, the shares are still trading at around 70 percent below their level before the defeat.
