The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has remained relatively flat when compared to the beginning of the year, up less than 3%. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up almost 14% year to date.
During Wednesday's trading session, CSL shares continued to move largely sideways, sliding 0.69% to $292.28.
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How is CSL comparing against the ASX 200?
On average, the ASX 200 has returned 6.50% per annum to shareholders over the last 5 years, and 5.78% per annum over its 10-year chart. The most significant gain was achieved in 2019 when the index grew 23.02%. On the other hand, the biggest fall came in 2011, when it lost 10.84%. Surprisingly, despite the pandemic-induced crash in 2020, that year did not deliver the biggest losses thanks to the ASX 200's sharp rebound.
Why is it worth looking at the 5-year and 10-year gains of the ASX 200? The reason is that, historically, CSL shares have outperformed the ASX 200 by a significant margin. Over the past 5 years, the company has delivered a 155% return. When looking at the last 10 years, the CSL share price has jumped by around 930% over the period.
What's been affecting the CSL share price lately?
CSL has been marred with plasma collection issues stemming from early 2020 when COVID-19 arrived on the world stage. Governments around the world enforced restrictions on passenger movements and closed down international borders in an effort to help curb the spiralling outbreak.
This was particularly bad news for CSL as it relies on the plasma from blood donors to make its life-saving medicines.
The company last provided an update in March advising that December 2020 plasma volumes were sitting at around 80% of December 2019 levels.
While current plasma levels are expected to eventually bounce back, no one can be certain exactly when this will occur. This uncertain environment has likely weighed on investor optimism, sending CSL shares in circles over the past 18 months.
The most recent broker note on CSL came from Macquarie yesterday. The broker cut its 12-month price target for CSL shares by 1.3% to $308.00. Based on the current CSL share price, this implies an upside of around 5% to investors.
CSL share price snapshot
Over the course of the past 12 months, CSL shares have taken investors on a rollercoaster ride, but are up just 5.08%. The company's shares are currently sitting just above the middle of their 52-week range of $242.00 to $320.42.
On valuation grounds, CSL is the third-largest company on the ASX with a market capitalisation of roughly $133 billion.
