The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price continued its strong run on Thursday and charged higher again.
The biotherapeutics company's latest gain means its shares have just hit an all-time high of $291.46.
Why did the CSL share price hit an all-time high?
The catalyst for yesterday's solid gain was the de-escalation of US-Iran tensions and the release of a positive broker note out of Credit Suisse.
In respect to the latter, the broker retained its outperform rating and $305.00 price target on the company's shares.
According to the note, the broker's data shows that immunoglobulins demand remains strong and it feels CSL is well-positioned to benefit greatly from the high prices and tight market.
What else is driving its share price higher?
Investors have been fighting to buy CSL's shares following a very strong performance in FY 2019.
During the 12 months CSL grew its revenue by 11% to US$8,539 million and net profit after tax at a quicker rate of 17% to US$1,919 million. Key drivers of this were strong demand for its immunoglobulins and albumin products.
Sales of immunoglobulins grew at an above-market rate of 16% to US$3,543 million in FY 2019. This was thanks to a range of factors including increased usage for chronic therapies, growing awareness and diagnosis, and the expanding usage for secondary immunodeficiency.
This ultimately led to the core CSL Behring business delivering an 11% increase in total revenue to US$7,343 million.
Supporting its growth was the Seqirus influenza vaccine business. Thanks to strong demand for its seasonal influenza vaccines, it posted a 12% increase in total revenue to US$1,196 million.
What about the future?
The good news is that brokers like Credit Suisse appear confident that there will be more of the same in FY 2020 thanks to favourable market conditions.
And with its R&D pipeline filled with promising products, the future looks bright for this biotherapeutics giant.
