Alcon stock price target lowered to CHF84.50 by Bernstein SocGen

Investing.com - Bernstein SocGen Group lowered its price target on Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ALC) (ALC:SW) to CHF84.50 from CHF88.00 while maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock. The company, currently trading near its 52-week low of $80.48, has seen its shares decline by 14% over the past year according to InvestingPro data.

The price target reduction follows what the research firm described as "another miss and another guidance downgrade" from the eye care company, which disappointed investors who questioned why Alcon hadn’t implemented a larger guidance cut during its first-quarter results. InvestingPro data shows that five analysts have recently revised their earnings expectations downward for the upcoming period, though the company maintains strong fundamentals with a healthy current ratio of 2.6.

Bernstein SocGen noted that the second quarter was expected to be the trough for Alcon, and despite more conservative commentary from the company, product launches still appear on track to accelerate growth over the next few years.

The research firm forecasts constant currency revenue growth of 6% in the second half of the year and 8% in 2026, viewing the recent share price decline as a buying opportunity.

Bernstein SocGen identified Alcon’s third-quarter results, scheduled for November 12, as the next likely catalyst for the stock, emphasizing that the company needs to deliver on growth acceleration for the investment thesis to work.

In other recent news, Alcon reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings with earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.7194. Despite this EPS beat, the company faced a revenue shortfall, reporting $2.58 billion against a projected $2.63 billion. Alcon’s Surgical segment saw a modest growth of 1.0%, while its Vision Care segment grew by 5.0%. The company also achieved gross margins and operating margins that surpassed Street expectations by 30 and 20 basis points, respectively. In response to these results, BTIG adjusted its price target for Alcon to $92 from $100, maintaining a Buy rating. The adjustment reflects concerns over weaker market growth, despite the company’s strong performance in certain areas. These developments highlight the mixed financial outcomes for Alcon in the recent quarter.

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