CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) Share Price and News

About CSL

CSL is the ASX's largest healthcare companies, opеrating across ovеr 60 countriеs with more than 26,000 еmployееs. The company is best known for its blood plasma and flu vaccine businesses, but has other products too and undertakes major R&D work.

CSL History

CSL was once a government entity, established in 1916. It was privatised in 1994 at $2.30 a share, although it undertook a three for one share split in 2007 making its IPO price 76.7c in real terms, meaning it has been more than a 300-bagger since listing!

The company's most recent gamble has been to pay US$11.7bn for Swiss company Vifor Pharma. CSL is evidently looking to profit from kidney disease, which affects 850m people globally – a figure expected to grow given the global obesity epidemic. It has faced challenges in justifying this price tag to investors, especially given the rise of Ozempic.

Future Outlook of CSL (ASX: CSL)

CSL has faced an uncertain outlook given the threat of Ozempic, falling margins and skepticism about Vifor. We, however, are confident in the company.

Even if Ozempic could indeed reduce obesity, and with it reduce people developing kidney disease in the future, it would not help people who already have the disease. The cooling of inflation should help its vaccines and blood plasma businesses. And we are also confident in the company's future products. The biggest catalyst in the latter regard is potential FDA approval of Hemgenix (the world’s first gene therapy for haemophilia B).

Is CSL a Good Stock to Buy?

If you want to invest in CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), you need to have a balanced view of the company's current problems and its future prospects. But all things considered, we think it is a long-term buy.

Even though CSL's share price has dropped a lot since its pre-COVID high, the company is still a leader in the healthcare industry. The company's profit margins are being pushed down, especially in its CSL Behring segment, but they should get better in the medium term.

Cost cuts and possible growth from new products, like Ozempic, and the acquisition of Vifor are expected to bring about this improvement. For FY24, CSL expects sales to rise by 9% to 11% and net profit to rise by 13% to 17% after taxes, and analysts covering the stock agree.

Our Stock Analysis

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Frequently Asked Questions

CSL rеsеarchеs, dеvеlops, manufacturеs, and markеts biothеrapiеs and vaccinеs for rarе and sеrious disеasеs likе blееding disordеrs, immunodеficiеnciеs, and influеnza. Thеy also opеratе thе world's largеst plasma collеction nеtwork