CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares climbed around 3% higher on Tuesday, ending the day at $119.52 a piece.
Today's uptick means the ASX biotech shares are now up around 4% over the past month and have rebounded around 30% since a 15-year low in early June.
But there is still a long way for CSL shares to go before they've recouped the huge amount of losses shed over the past 18 months.
The shares are still down around 30% year to date and are 56% lower than their trading prices 12 months ago.
The latest rebound is certainly a step in the right direction. The question now is: as we enter the last few days of July, should investors add more CSL shares to their portfolio ahead of further increases in August? Or will the share price dip again?
Here's what the experts expect from the biotech stock over the next 12 months.
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What happened to CSL shares so far in July?
CSL shares have yo-yoed over the past month. The shares jumped around 10% higher in the first week of July and then tumbled by around the same amount to a low late last week. Just when it looked like the downward spiral had begun again, the share price began ticking up over the past couple of days.
There hasn't been any price-sensitive news out of the ASX healthcare shares in July, so it's likely that the fluctuating share price is the result of swinging investor sentiment.
It's not unusual for investors to take their gains off the table after a share price increase, which in turn makes the shares fall in value. And vice versa.
Should I buy CSL shares before the end of the month?
I think there is a lot of potential for the company to grow over the next few years. CSL is operating in a high-growth market, and its blood plasma division dominates the market for rare blood disorders and immunoglobulin products.
The company has said its growth initiatives are working. But it also recently commented that the financial benefits will take longer than previously expected.
I think we'll see an upside ahead, but I don't think we'll see much material increase in the share price until at least after the company has posted its FY26 results in August.
At the moment, I don't see any reason for investors to rush to snap up the stock before the end of July unless they're confident that we'll see much more upside over the next couple of weeks.
The experts are on the fence too.
A few months ago, brokers were optimistic about the outlook for CSL shares, and the majority forecast significant upsides ahead.
But today it's a different story.
Market Index data shows that the majority of brokers have now downgraded their rating on CSL to a hold. But the $131.15 average target price implies a potential 10% upside at the time of writing.
TradingView data also shows some analyst sentiment shifts. Out of 18 analysts, 10 now have a hold stance on the biotech company's shares, and another eight have a buy or strong buy rating.
The average target price is a little higher at $139.68 which implies a potential 17% upside at the time of writing. Although, some think CSL shares could climb 66% to $198.57 over the next 12 months.
