Around £1.2 billion was wiped from the value of GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) after the drug giant's Q2 vaccine sales failed to pass muster with the City.
Specifically, analysts at Shore Capital said the Shingrix, its shingles jab, "missed materially", while there was also some 'harrumphing' around the performance of its RSV inoculation, Arexvy.
All of this came against the backdrop of GSK raising its full-year revenue and earnings forecasts.
Core earnings per share (EPS) were 43.4p, and sales reached £7.88 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of 38.9p and £7.5 billion, respectively.
As a result, GSK has revised its 2024 core EPS growth forecast to 10%-12%, up from 8%-10%, and its sales growth forecast to 7%-9%, up from 5%-7%.
The stock fell 30.5p, or 2% to 1,512.00p and is down 17% in the last three months, principally because of class action concerns around its heartburn tablet Zantac, which has been linked to incidences of cancer.
Broker Shore in a note reiterating its 'buy' advice, told investors: "We still view the current discount to peers as unwarranted and largely attributable to misguided assumptions around the potential cost of Zantac litigation.
"Our thesis remains that GSK offers a decent period of near-term growth with a realistic prospect of fulfilling its longer-term ambitions, which taken together look wholly unbecoming of the earnings multiple it currently trades on."