Reckitt Benckiser Shares Climb 2% After Jefferies Upgrade to Buy

Shares in Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE: RKT) rose more than 2% on Wednesday, July 22, after Jefferies upgraded the consumer goods giant to “Buy” from “Hold” and lifted its price target to 5,900p from 5,600p, ahead of half-year results due next week. The stock climbed to around 5,048p, up from a previous close of 4,938p.

Jefferies analyst David Hayes argued the market has overly punished Reckitt for a series of largely one-off setbacks that hit the company in early 2026. Reckitt shares have fallen roughly 15% year-to-date, against an 8% gain for the broader European market, leaving the stock trading at 14.5 times forward earnings versus 18 times at the start of the year.

The broker pinned the first-quarter sales miss — 1.3% like-for-like growth versus a 3% consensus — on three “binary” events: changes to Russian sanctions rules that removed about £26 million of sales, Chinese regulatory action on intimate wellness products (including new VAT on condoms) that cost roughly £12 million, and a weak cold-and-flu season that dragged seasonal self-care sales down about 10% year-on-year. Stripping these out, Jefferies estimates the remaining 80% of the business grew at 5%.

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Jefferies expects a formal guidance cut at Reckitt’s July 29 results but views this as a “clearing event” that removes uncertainty. A second potential catalyst looms in late August, when a jury verdict is expected in litigation linked to Mead Johnson infant formula — resolution of which Jefferies sees as a precondition for the planned Nutrition divestment, valued at roughly £4 billion.

The bank forecasts 4.5% like-for-like growth for core Reckitt in 2027, which it believes could support a re-rating toward 15.8 times forward earnings.