The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price managed to regain strength and claw back some losses during the first quarter of FY 2023. It gained almost 6% from the close on June 30 to $285.02 at the end of September.
The share continues in a long-term uptrend after bottoming on 15 February at $243 apiece. At the time of writing on Friday morning, it is at $291.06.
Stepping back, CSL has traded in a sideways channel since peaking in February 2020, while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has been cyclical, as seen below.
It is also up by just 1% in the past 12 months.
Image source: Getty Images
What's next for CSL?
Investors continue to rally the CSL share price from its February 2022 bottom despite a few blips along the way.
As such, analysts continue to see value in the share on a forward-looking basis. According to Refinitiv Eikon data, 13 out of 16 analysts rate the biotech giant as a buy right now, with the other three saying to hold.
The consensus price target from this list is $318.93, suggesting a return potential of almost 10% at the time of writing.
CSL is also forecast to trade on a dividend yield of 1.4% for the next 12 months, slightly behind the GICS Industry Health Care Industry median forward yield of 2.02%.
In addition, CSL trades at 40.7 times price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, in line with the peer median's P/E of 39 times.
However, it's trading at a discount compared to fellow industry ASX healthcare heavyweights Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) and Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC). They are priced at 46 times P/E and 51 times P/E, respectively.
The share is also priced at 6.6 times the price-to-book (P/B) value – above the industry median of 2.8 times — and delivered a return on equity (ROE) of 19.65% in FY 2022. However, at the lofty 6.6 times P/B multiple, the ROE to investors is 2.97%.
Point is, from what the market data suggests, it appears to be the status quo for CSL at the time being.
This corroborates what we're seeing on the CSL share price chart as well, with price action remaining relatively neutral of late.
For instance, CSL is valued in line with the industry across several multiples, and trades at a premium to others.
What does this mean for the CSL share price?
Analyst price targets are bullish but with the consensus estimate of just 10% of upside potential, while the forward dividend yield is below the industry average.
Furthermore, equity markets are currently experiencing a large drawdown from the highs of 2021, and there's no telling when the market rout will end.
With these points in mind, the biotech giant has some work to do before investors rapidly change their minds about the CSL share price.
