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The latest Market Talks covering the Health Care sector. Published exclusively on Finance News 365 at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0840 ET – AstraZeneca’s third-quarter results beat expectations but the company maintained its full-year guidance due to higher investments, Bernstein analysts say in a research note. Sales came in better than forecast, with lung-[cancer](https://www.financenews365.com/topics/subject/cancer) drug Tagrisso and rare-disease medicine Ultomiris both outperforming expectations, while a higher margin helped core earnings per share exceed estimates, the analysts say. However, the U.K. drugmaker confirmed its 2026 guidance as research-and-development costs look set to rise in the fourth quarter, they add. The spending increase from the third to fourth quarters seems likely to be bigger in 2026 than in prior years, Bernstein says, citing AstraZeneca’s investor-relations department. Shares rise 5.3%. (adria.calatayud@financenews365.com)

0837 ET – AstraZeneca investors might shift focus to the company’s outlook for next year after it reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter and left its full-year guidance unchanged, Bank of America analysts say in a research note. Investors are debating the U.K. drugmaker’s profitability outlook for next year, the analysts say. Bank of America expects AstraZeneca to guide for sales growth in the mid-to-high single-digit percentage range in 2027, with core EPS in the low double-digit range. Shares in AstraZeneca have been down after drug pipeline setbacks and merger speculation, so the company will need to deliver positive clinical-trial results to rebut investors’ fears and has a busy 2027 ahead, the analysts add. Shares rise 5.2%. (adria.calatayud@financenews365.com)

0807 ET – Bayer’s win in a Missouri trial over the company’s Roundup weedkiller is more meaningful than it might seem, given that it represents the first courtroom test of plaintiffs’ alternative routes after a June ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, analysts at Jefferies write in a note to clients. “While one verdict should not be over-extrapolated, we think it provides a positive first datapoint on plaintiffs’ remaining litigation routes,” the analysts say. The Supreme Court ruling pre-empted failure-to-warn claims, historically a key argument in Roundup litigation, they add. In the latest trial, the jury sided with Bayer’s Monsanto on design defect, fraud and negligence claims and rejected them unanimously after a deliberation of just two hours, Jefferies says. Shares rise 3.6%. (adria.calatayud@financenews365.com)

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