The team at Ord Minnett has provided fresh guidance on ASX 200 companies CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).
The investment services firm sees one as a clear buy, while the other, a hold.
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CSL shares endure a rough week
CSL shares have come under heavy scrutiny recently.
Investors have been exiting their positions in the company following its half year earnings results.
As a result, CSL shares have now fallen 14% in 2026 and more than 40% over the last 12 months.
A CEO exit and poor results have weighed heavily on sentiment.
Ord Minnett said CSL's first-half FY26 net profit fell short of market expectations, driven by weak revenue growth at its dominant Behring plasma products division that erased the benefits of better-than-expected revenue from its Seqirus vaccine and Vifor nephrology businesses.
The soft result capped a horror couple of days for the beleaguered biotech – its shares slumped 4.6% after the result, taking its two-session slide since the bungled announcement of CEO Paul McKenzie's exit to more than 9%.
The broker has maintained its hold recommendation on CSL shares.
Post the result, we have cut our EPS estimates by 3.0%, 2.2% and 3.0% for FY26, FY27 and FY28, respectively, which, combined with currency effects, leading us to cut our target price to $198.00 from $217.00.
Despite the apparent upside on offer, Ord Minnett said it will need more evidence of top-line growth and margin expansion before we can become more constructive on CSL.
CSL shares closed trading yesterday at $147.38.
Plenty of upside for Macquarie shares
Meanwhile, Ord Minnett is more optimistic on Macquarie shares.
The investment services firm has reiterated its buy recommendation and target price of $255.00 on Macquarie shares.
The company reported that net profit across three of its four divisions was substantially higher year-on-year in the December quarter, driven by strong performances in:
- Macquarie Asset Management (including gains from divestments)
- Commodities and Global Markets (higher asset finance income)
- Macquarie Capital (asset realisations and private credit).
Banking and Financial Services delivered only slight profit growth due to margin pressure, although its personal banking arm continued to gain market share, reaching about 7% of mortgages and 6% of household deposits.
At current growth rates, Macquarie's mortgage portfolio will reach $300 billion with three years, or circa 10% of outstanding home loans, which raises questions over capital levels. That growth rate would imply an additional $4 billion in regulatory capital at the common equity tier-one (CET1) level will be required.
Macquarie shares closed yesterday trading at $214.13.
Based on the target from Ord Minnett, there is approximate upside of 19%.
