BAYER: Robust operating performance... Buy!

Free Issue No. 05 of 11.03.2021
With the current short-term consolidation, the shares of the pharmaceutical and agricultural group BAYER are creating a good breeding ground for new, appropriate price ranges. We are eagerly awaiting the Capital Market Days (virtual) to be held on March 10 and 11. The insight into the divisions, the high innovation potential and the well-filled pipeline could be a starting signal for overdue impulses. BAYER is not (yet) in the analysts' favour, but as is well known, they only jump on the bandwagon when it is rolling and has already travelled a certain distance!

Despite the pandemic and adjusted for special items (glyphosate compensation), BAYER delivered an EBITDA of a good EUR 11.5 bn. The bottom line - despite negative currency effects, sales losses due to Corona and price reductions in China - was at the previous year's level. And the course for future growth has been set: The transformation was and is being driven forward, the product pipelines are being further developed and investments are being made in new technologies across all business areas. There are also blockbuster candidates with peak sales potential in the billions (Nubeqa, Finerenon, Verquvo, BAY-342). In addition, more than 25 collaborations or acquisitions have been concluded in the pharmaceutical sector. A major step forward was taken with the acquisition of the biotech company AskBio. Ask-Bio and BlueRock Therapeutics strengthen the company's increasingly leading position in the promising and rapidly growing field of cell and gene therapy. Here we are working on groundbreaking innovations to treat or even cure diseases, such as the previously incurable nerve disorder Parkinson's disease. The other divisions are also very promising. The new, low-growing corn variety Vitala (Crop Science) can revolutionize corn production (less land, water and nitrogen). This and much more makes for "fundamentals"! Price target of EUR 97 is justified!