The past few months have been hard for the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price. Yesterday, CSL shares closed at $258.21 each, down 0.9% for the day. But it was only late last month that this ASX 200 healthcare share had printed a new 52-week low of $228.65.
The all-time highs that we saw way back in early 2020 of over $340 a share seem like a distant fever dream, given what has happened over the subsequent almost four years:
But onto sunnier times, those being the past few weeks. Since the end of October, the CSL share price has rebounded enthusiastically. The company has gained an impressive 11.95% since 30 October, and almost 13% since hitting that new 52-week low.
But many investors might be wondering whether CSL has the potential to reclaim its historic high watermarks. For it to do so, it would first have to cross back over the $300 a share hurdle. So what is the likelihood of CSL achieving this by Christmas?
Firstly, it's worth pointing out that giving out the year's share price targets for ASX shares is a fraught business. But giving out one-month targets? That's a pretty shaky science. ost one-month predictions aren't worth the paper they're written (or typed) on. And this one is no different.
But we can still speculate. After all, as a CSL shareholder myself, no one would be more delighted to see the company at $300 a share.
Can CSL hit $300 a share by Christmas?
So let's do some maths. For the CSL share price to get back to $300, it would have to gain approximately 16.18% from yesterday's closing share price in ~35 days.
Now, if CSL had an earnings report, quarterly update or any other major ASX announcement scheduled for the coming month and a bit, it might be remotely possible for the healthcare giant to plausibly make up this ground.
However, CSL has nothing of the sort scheduled between now and the end of the year. Not even any dividend payments.
As such, barring a major unforeseen event, it's unlikely that anything coming out of the company, at least that is a reasonable assumption, is going to move CSL shares that enthusiastically before Christmas.
Now, we could see some buy ratings from ASX brokers that might have the potential to move the CSL share price around a little.
However, we've already seen quite a few of these over November so far. Just this week, my Fool colleague Bronwyn discussed broker UBS' buy rating on CSL and 12-month share price target of $340. Not to mention some other bullish views from other brokers. So again, this avenue to $300 looks unlikely as well.
If I were a betting man, I would feel pretty comfortable wagering good odds that CSL is not going to be a $300 share by Christmas. But nothing is ever certain on the markets, and stranger things have happened.