London, June 19, 2026, 13:15 BST
- Haleon was up 0.2% at 334.5 pence in early afternoon action, but the stock is still off 10.8% since the start of the year.
- Rothschild & Co Redburn took a less upbeat view and Morgan Stanley cut its price target, leaving investors to react.
- Haleon reports first-half numbers on July 30. Investors are watching if North America is picking up the pace.
Haleon PLC traded higher Friday, shaking off a 0.35% drop in the FTSE 100 as investors digested this week’s broker calls on the Sensodyne maker. Last available market data showed Haleon at around 334.5 pence, up 0.2%.
No new trading update explained the move. Haleon’s latest regulatory post was a June 15 share-purchase notice, so shares traded on market positioning and debate about the speed of its U.S. business recovery.
London stocks slipped after U.S.-Iran peace talks were cancelled, denting risk appetite. Miners led the losses. Healthcare provided some offset, as AstraZeneca and GSK traded higher earlier.
Rothschild & Co Redburn’s Edward Lewis cut his rating on Haleon to Neutral from Buy and put a 365-pence target on the stock. Morgan Stanley kept its Overweight view but trimmed the target to 430 pence, down from 440. The new targets are about 9% and 29% above where the stock closed Friday. Opinions are split on how fast the recovery comes.
Mixed results for the quarter. Organic revenue added 2.2%, with North America rising 1%. Oral Health jumped 8.3%, but Respiratory Health fell 3.4%. Organic growth numbers strip out currency, M&A and disposals. Haleon kept its 2026 outlook for 3% to 5% organic growth and high-single-digit adjusted operating profit growth at constant FX.
Chief Executive Brian McNamara said earlier this year, “We feel confident the U.S. will grow this year.” The coming results will show if that confidence holds up and if the planned retail shelf resets, new products, and broader distribution are helping volumes beyond just toothpaste. Reuters
Haleon’s £500 million buyback is still helping support the stock. The company is buying back its own shares and canceling them, cutting the number outstanding. In the latest filing, Haleon bought 565,285 shares at an average 331.9552p, just under Friday’s close. The whole buyback is set to wrap up by August 19.
Management is putting more money into long-term growth. Haleon said this month it will spend around £175 million on a new oral-health plant in India and boost rural distribution, a try to lean less on developed markets that have slowed. The new site is set to open in early 2028, and supply should begin in 2029.
Execution risk is still an issue. Consumer-goods rivals like Reckitt and Procter & Gamble have dealt with higher freight and energy costs too. Reckitt was also hit by a weak cold-and-flu season. Haleon CFO Dawn Allen said freight surcharges remain “quite small” but expects them “to increase.” Quilter’s Chris Beckett said Haleon “needs more than the toothpaste business to start performing.” Reuters
Haleon’s move higher Friday points to some stabilisation, not a full rerating. The buyback and its oral health business set a base, but signs of lasting recovery hinge on stronger U.S. numbers and a pickup in respiratory, pain relief and digestive health. Without that proof, the gap in Haleon’s valuation sticks to doubts about growth, not about having the right names on its shelf.
