The long-awaited investor day at AstraZeneca (AZN) on 21 May delivered a punchy increase in the pharmaceutical giant’s long term growth ambitions inviting further analysts upgrades to revenue and profit forecasts.

After achieving its prior target of generating in excess of $45 billion of revenue by 2023 set a decade ago, management is aiming for more than $80 billion in annual revenue by 2030 and adjusted operating profit margins in the mid-30s percentage range.

Long-serving chief executive Pascal Soriot is predicting a ‘new era of growth’ and believes the company can reach its new goal organically through a combination of ‘significant’ growth from AstraZeneca’s existing portfolio of medicines and by launching 20 new medicines by the end of the decade.

Many of the new launches are expected to have the potential to generate more than $5 billion in peak revenue.

Analysts were anticipating an upgrade to sales and profit guidance, but not to the magnitude delivered which implies a 25% increase to consensus $64.2 billion revenue forecasts and a 12% increase to adjusted operating profit estimates.

Shore Capital’s healthcare analyst Sean Conroy conceded long-term upgrades to earnings could be in the cards ‘assuming the $80 billion looks deliverable based on the information conveyed’.

Sceptics could argue Soriot is trying to justify his controversial £1.8 million pay increase which takes his annual salary to £18.7 million, making him one of the highest-paid CEOs in the FTSE 100.

Fellow pharmaceutical firm GSK (GSK) is showing signs of getting its mojo back following a period of operational hiccups and litigation worries surrounding its heartburn drug Zantac.

The first legal case to make it to trial saw GSK handed a victory by a Chicago court after it dismissed the plaintiff’s claim that Zantac had caused her colorectal cancer.

Separately, GSK said it welcomed news of a court ruling which dismissed a Zantac trial due to start on 23 May on the grounds the UK firm was not the brand manufacturer of the generic over-the-counter drug at the time the plaintiff allegedly used it.

Receding fears of multi-billion-dollar settlements and a string of better-than-expected trading updates has helped the shares climb back to the £18 level they traded at before news of the litigation broke in July 2022.

Finally, there was further good news for investors in biotechnology company PureTech Health (PRTC) after it announced a $100 million tender offer pitched at £2.50 per share, representing a 10% premium to the current price.

PureTech is a running 2024 Shares tip of the year, currently 50% in the money. 

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