Bayer AG has been one of Germany’s worst stocks for years. Now, it turns out to be the best.
Pharmaceuticals and chemical companies soared about 40% in 2025, ranking the highest in DAX. It has risen so rapidly that the price exceeds the cusp of an average 12-month analyst target.
Traders are betting on Bayer’s breakthrough in a long legal battle in integrated weeds, with its experimental Asundexian drugs likely a sensation in preventing strokes. Bloomberg data shows that some analysts say the worst has been priced, and the stock has not had a sales rating since September.
“The whole situation for Bayer is definitely better than last year,” said Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at United Investments in Frankfurt. “The first success of turnaround is visible.”
CEO Bill Anderson tries to simplify the massive organization and strengthens legal and lobbying efforts in the United States since taking over in 2023.
Even after this year’s recovery, Bayer’s stock is a small part of what they used to be. The company has paid about $10 billion in appropriations to process overview claims, and the 2018 acquisition of Monsanto is now seen as a textbook case for a badly-fated blockbuster deal. Last year, the stock plummeted about 42%, and lost more than any other company in DAX.
More and more investors are seeing a turnaround start, especially as the U.S. Supreme Court can review Bayer’s lawsuit in June and ultimately decide on the lawsuit against the company.
Tom Flaps, a litigation analyst for Gordon Haskett, said the Supreme Court may have a 40% chance of reviewing the overview lawsuit, and if that happens, there is a 75% chance that it will be related to Bayer.
A Bayer spokesman said the company shared views that it could conduct a Supreme Court review by the end of June, adding that the company is looking for all available options to handle the lawsuit.
James Quigley, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said it could trigger a 10% to 25% share price increase if the High Court reviews Bayer’s case. Earlier this month, he upgraded his stock to a buy advice, one of three analysts.
Of course, if the Supreme Court rejects Bayer’s appeal, the company will have to rely on other methods, such as separating its glyphosate business. Holly Froum, a Bloomberg intelligence analyst, said the company may have to pay $8 billion for more than 67,000 outstanding claims.
A Bayer spokesman declined to comment on estimates of outstanding claims resolution.
Bayer also has a high debt burden. Famous Ingo Speich, a German investor in Deca Investment, expressed anger at the company’s ongoing struggle. In addition, the company is facing a lot of competition from eye drops and blood protein Xarelto.
The stock is still cheaper than its peers, and some investors are optimistic that testing experimental stroke drugs may lead to positive results. Bayer’s trading is about six times forward earnings, while the average multiple of the STOXX 600 company is 15.
According to Union Investment’s Manns, the company’s pharmaceutical units could be upgraded if Streos Drug Asundexian provides good late-stage trial data later this year. He estimates that the treatment could generate as much as 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in annual sales.
“Once the lawsuit hovers over the lawsuit, the company may be better off proposing a strategy to lower the balance sheet, which could allow it to invest in its pharmaceutical pipeline,” Rajesh Kumar, an analyst at HSBC Holdings Plc, wrote in a note.
