GSK Upgraded to Buy as Berenberg Notes Pipeline Momentum; Price Target Raised

08:56 AM EDT, 09/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg upgraded its rating on GSK (GSK.L) to buy from hold, citing increased optimism on the UK-based pharmaceutical group's growth outlook on the back of business development improvements and pipeline momentum. "Since Luke Miels became CEO, GSK business development has stepped up a gear. Ten of GSK's 11 novel P3 assets are sourced externally. We support this allocation of capital and much-needed pipeline supplementation. In our view, six of these late-stage assets have the potential to each generate at least GBP2bn peak sales," analysts said in a note published Tuesday as they raised the stock's price target to 22 pounds sterling from 20 pounds. The research firm also identified several upcoming pipeline catalysts, including US regulatory approvals for bepirovirsen in hepatitis B and neladalkib in lung cancer expected by the end of 2026, and the phase 3 data readout for ris-rez in small cell lung cancer over the next 12 months. Taking these into account, analysts expect GSK to see group sales of 39 billion pounds in 2031, compared with the consensus of 36 billion pounds and the company guidance of more than 40 billion pounds. "Recently launched assets (Exdensur, Blenrep) will contribute to growth over this time-period. The opportunity for bepirovirsen, the Nuvalent lung cancer assets and GSK/Hansoh oncology ADCs is underappreciated, in our view," Berenberg added.