The respected London healthcare team of Wall Street research house Jefferies has delivered a bitter-sweet update to coverage of GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LSE:GSK).
While it has tweaked down its revenue forecast for the third quarter, it said it remains a long-term fan of the stock.
It reckons the spin-off of the consumer arm in the middle of next year offers a “significant opportunity to crystallise value”.
Nearer term, Jefferies said the much-need boost from US prescriptions of shingles vaccine Shingrix is yet to materialise, and as such its team of number crunchers had taken out the red pen.
As a result, its third-quarter sales forecast is 11% below consensus.
In mid-afternoon trading, the shares were changing hands for 1,399p each, down 1.1%. Jefferies’ price target is 1,925p with the stock carrying a ‘buy’ recommendation.