The rise in GSK PLC (LSE:GSK, NYSE:GSK) shares on the reporting of a finance chief was probably more to do with the slide in sterling, than the market's excitement about the creation of an all-female top team, said Barclays.
Following the drug maker announcing that Julie Brown is being poached from Burberry to take the role of chief financial officer as Iain Mackay retires, the general reception to the news today has been positive, the bank said.
Feedback about Brown was that she was liked by investors at Burberry, while the communication from GSK was that succession planning for Mackay has been going on for quite some time, the analysts noted.
"We would also note that investors have picked up on the recent slide of the GBP and the potential translational benefit, given GSK is our only company under coverage that reports in sterling."
However, near-term investor focus remains on the US legal risk and when any more updates on the trajectory of the Zantac litigation will arrive.
The Barclays analysts said it is their understanding, based on input from GSK and legal opinion leaders, "that we should get an update from the Daubert proceedings in the MDL around year end".
In recent conversations with investors, the bank said some have highlighted the outcome of the Boehringer Ingelheim arbitration (also expected around year end) as a potential catalyst for Sanofi, "in that following this decision, we may have a sense of that party’s relative share of risk, but with Haleon last week taking a more pronounced stance on its view of its own liability being limited".
The consensus view is believed to remain that "this continues to be a very fluid, complex situation, for which it’s difficult to get a high degree of
certainty around not only ultimate liability but also relative liability".