Jefferies Identifies the Key Challenge for Sanofi's New CEO
In a note regarding the non-renewal of Paul Hudson as Sanofi's CEO—which has led to a 4.75% drop in the share price to 78.64 euros—Jefferies offers a different perspective.
Analysts believe this may reflect an awakening by the board of directors, who have recognized what must be addressed as a priority and what can wait.
Paul Hudson will step down from his role on 17 February, to be replaced by Belén Garijo on 29 April. In the interim, Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president of general medicine and a member of the executive committee since 2011, will take over.
Jefferies believes Sanofi's share price is being penalized mainly because the incoming CEO does not have a proven track record in R&D at her previous position (as CEO of Germany's Merck KGaA since 2021), and was unable to drive growth in Merck KGaA's Pharma division. According to the American investment bank, another interpretation is possible, notably because boosting R&D productivity is more challenging in mid-sized organizations than in "Large Caps." Furthermore, at Merck KGaA, the priority was not Pharma, but the LifeScience business. Jefferies adds that Belén Garijo's ability to slow the decline of the Pharma segment was impressive.
Like other analysts, Jefferies believes it is necessary to allocate capital both within and outside the joint venture with Regeneron. The analysts emphasize that Sanofi's most immediate challenge is the sustainability of this joint venture.
The recommendation is to buy, with a target price of 100 euros.
Mr. Paul Hudson is a Chief Executive Officer & Director at Sanofi, a Chairman at Novartis Pharma KK and a Chief Executive Officer & Director at Sanofi Clir SENC. He is on the Board of Directors at Sanofi and Sanofi Clir SENC. Mr. Hudson was previously employed as a Chief Executive Officer by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., a President-AstraZeneca US & EVP-North America by AstraZeneca Plc, a President by AstraZéneca Farmacéutica Spain SA, a President & Director by AstraZeneca KK, a Member-Executive Committee by Novartis AG, and a Head-Global Marketing by Schering Plough Holdings France SAS. He received his undergraduate degree from Manchester Metropolitan University of.
Sanofi is the largest European pharmaceutical group. Net sales by family of products break down as follows:
- pharmaceutical products (81.8%): prescription drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, neurological diseases, inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, rare diseases, cancers and rare hematological diseases;
- human vaccines (18.2%): pediatric vaccines, vaccines for flu, meningitis, and polio, booster vaccines, and vaccines for travelers and endemic areas.
At the end of 2025, the group had 37 production sites worldwide.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (3.9%), Europe (17.1%), the United States (50.8%), China (6%) and other (22.2%).
This super rating is the result of a weighted average of the rankings based on the following ratings: Global Valuation (Composite), EPS Revisions (4 months), and Visibility (Composite). We recommend that you carefully review the associated descriptions.
Investor
Investor
This super composite rating is the result of a weighted average of the rankings based on the following ratings: Fundamentals (Composite), Global Valuation (Composite), EPS Revisions (1 year), and Visibility (Composite). We recommend that you carefully review the associated descriptions.
Global
Global
This composite rating is the result of an average of the rankings based on the following ratings: Fundamentals (Composite), Valuation (Composite), Financial Estimates Revisions (Composite), Consensus (Composite), and Visibility (Composite). The company must be covered by at least 4 of these 5 ratings for the calculation to be performed. We recommend that you carefully review the associated descriptions.
Quality
Quality
This composite rating is the result of an average of the rankings based on the following ratings: Capital Efficiency (Composite), Quality of Financial Reporting (Composite), and Financial Health (Composite). The company must be covered by at least 2 of these 3 ratings for the calculation to be performed. We recommend that you carefully review the associated descriptions.
ESG MSCI
ESG MSCI
The MSCI ESG score assesses a company’s environmental, social, and governance practices relative to its industry peers. Companies are rated from CCC (laggard) to AAA (leader). This rating helps investors incorporate sustainability risks and opportunities into their investment decisions.
