Morgan Stanley has adjusted its price target for Alcon (ALC, Financial), bringing it down to $84 from a previous target of $90 while maintaining an Equal Weight rating on the stock. The firm expresses optimism about the industry's prospects moving into the second quarter, driven by steady procedure volumes and consistent hospital capital expenditures. This assessment was communicated to investors in a recent research note.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast
Based on the one-year price targets offered by 15 analysts, the average target price for Alcon Inc (ALC, Financial) is $106.51 with a high estimate of $123.00 and a low estimate of $85.00. The average target implies an upside of 21.97% from the current price of $87.32. More detailed estimate data can be found on the Alcon Inc (ALC) Forecast page.
Based on the consensus recommendation from 18 brokerage firms, Alcon Inc's (ALC, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 1.7, indicating "Outperform" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for Alcon Inc (ALC, Financial) in one year is $93.16, suggesting a upside of 6.69% from the current price of $87.32. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. More detailed data can be found on the Alcon Inc (ALC) Summary page.
ALC Key Business Developments
Release Date: May 14, 2025
- Revenue: $2.5 billion, up 3% year-over-year.
- Core Operating Margin: 20.8%.
- Core Diluted Earnings: $0.73 per share.
- Surgical Franchise Revenue: $1.3 billion, up 2% year-over-year.
- Implantable Sales: $420 million, flat compared to the prior period.
- Consumables Sales: $712 million, up 6% year-over-year.
- Equipment Sales: $199 million, down 6% year-over-year.
- Vision Care Sales: $1.1 billion, up 3% year-over-year.
- Contact Lens Sales: $688 million, up 4% year-over-year.
- Ocular Health Sales: $432 million, up 2% year-over-year.
- Core Gross Margin: 63.2%.
- Free Cash Flow: $278 million, up from $229 million in the prior year.
- Full Year Revenue Guidance: $10.4 billion to $10.5 billion.
- Full Year Core Operating Margin Guidance: 20% to 21%.
- Full Year Core Diluted Earnings Guidance: $3.05 to $3.15 per share.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- Alcon Inc (ALC, Financial) reported sales of $2.5 billion for the first quarter, reflecting a 3% growth, showcasing the company's resilience despite a soft US surgical market.
- The launch of Unity VCS and PanOptix Pro is expected to drive significant growth in the latter half of the year, with high single-digit revenue growth anticipated.
- Alcon Inc (ALC) acquired a majority interest in Aurion Biotech, which could revolutionize corneal transplantation and potentially generate peak sales of $0.5 billion or more.
- The company's Vision Care segment saw strong growth, particularly in innovative lenses like Precision 1 and Total 30 families, which grew double digits.
- Alcon Inc (ALC) is actively mitigating tariff impacts through strategic measures such as supplier diversification and optimizing its manufacturing network, aiming to offset the $80 million tariff pressure.
Negative Points
- The US surgical market remains soft, impacting Alcon Inc (ALC)'s implantable sales, which were flat year-over-year at $420 million.
- Alcon Inc (ALC) faces competitive pressures in the US market, particularly in the advanced technology IOLs segment.
- The company's equipment sales declined by 6% year-over-year, although growth is expected to accelerate in the second half of the year.
- Tariff impacts are expected to pressure cost of sales by approximately $80 million for the full year, with most of the impact in the second half.
- Alcon Inc (ALC) has updated its full-year revenue guidance to reflect a softer US surgical market, now expecting sales growth of 6% to 7% in constant currency.
