CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) shares closed around 1% higher on Tuesday afternoon, at $196.78 a piece.
The latest increase continues an incredible rally that the ASX biotech shares have been on since hitting a 10-year low in June. The shares have now rebounded roughly 105% since that low point.
They've also now recovered losses shed earlier this year, and are up around 14% year to date.
It looks like the strong headwinds the company faced earlier this year have now eased, and investor confidence has returned.
CSL's final FY26 result in mid-August helped drive confidence higher again. The company reported total revenue of US$15.8 billion and NPAT of US$2.6 billion, which came in way ahead of guidance.
Management described FY26 as a 'reset year' for CSL, and said that it expects FY27 will represent a return to growth.
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What has driven the shares higher over the past month?
More recently in October, CSL shares have been pushed higher by news of a new exclusive deal and a new CEO appointment.
Earlier this month, the company announced it has entered into a deal with Alentis Therapeutics for lixudebart, a treatment targeting rare kidney and liver conditions. CSL said it plans to expand its clinic trials to cover other rare diseases.
CSL is expected to make an initial upfront payment of US$355 million to Alentis Therapeutics, with the agreement valued up to US$1.6 billion in total.
Then last week, the company announced Deborah Waterhouse will become its new CEO and Managing Director from 1 February 2027, following a comprehensive global search. Waterhouse is currently CEO of ViiV Healthcare and president of GSK Global Health.
Even news of a new class action alleging breaches of disclosure regulations between February 2025 and May 2026 didn't dampen CSL's share price growth.
It's clear that the company is riding a wave of new tailwinds over the past few weeks.
Now the question is, could CSL shares smash past the $200 mark and return to the share price highs we saw in 2025?
Here's what the experts think.
What's the outlook for CSL shares?
Analysts are mostly positive on the biotech shares going forward, but after October's rally, it looks like they may have now surpassed fair value.
Although, after the latest market updates, I expect some experts could revise their target prices over the coming days.
At the time of writing, Market Index data shows that the majority of brokers have a buy rating on CSL shares. But the average $167.34 target price implies a downside of around 14% at the time of writing.
TradingView data is a little more optimistic. Again, the majority of analysts have a buy/strong buy rating. But the average $188.53 target still implies the shares could slide 4% over the next 12 months, at the time of writing.
Although, some more bullish experts see a 9% potential upside to $215.41 over the next 12 months. If the more bullish outlook comes to fruition, CSL could still well smash past the $200 barrier over the next 12 months.
What could support CSL share price growth past $200?
I think a mixture of positive earnings results, clinical pipeline growth, and higher demand for healthcare shares could continue propelling the stock higher this year.
As CSL management said, FY27 is expected to be the year for growth. So long as that happens, I think investor confidence could only continue to climb higher.
