A lot of FTSE 100 shares have had a good run recently. However, City analysts still see a lot of potential within the large-cap index.
Here, I’m going to highlight two Footsie stocks that could rise more than 50% over the next year or so, according to analysts. Are they worth a closer look?
A dirt cheap pharma stock
First up, we have Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE: HIK). It’s a pharma company that specialises in three types of products – injectables, branded products, and generics.
This company’s growing at a healthy pace. For the first half of 2025, revenue was up 6% year on year to $1.66bn while profit attributable to shareholders rose 5% to $238m.
Looking ahead, the company said that it’s well-positioned for the future. It noted that it’s making “significant strides” in its pipeline and successfully launching new products.
However, this momentum doesn’t seem to be reflected in the share price. Currently, the stock trades on a forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.7, which is about a 30% discount to the market.
At that earnings multiple, the stock looks undervalued to me. And City analysts share my view. Currently, the average price target here is £25.50. That’s about 57% above the current share price.
Now there’s no guarantee this price target will be hit, of course. One risk to consider is profit margins, which have been hit due to higher costs.
Pharma regulation in the US is another risk to be aware of. This adds some uncertainty.
However, with the company looking set to release generic versions of popular weight-loss drugs in the near future, I think it’s worth considering as a value play. A dividend yield of 3.8% adds weight to the investment case.
Potential for a rebound
Next, we have London Stock Exchange Group (LSE: LSEG), or LSEG for short. Originally a stock exchange operator, it now generates the bulk of its revenues from selling financial data to investment managers and banks.
This stock’s experienced a remarkable drop in recent months. In February, it was trading above £120. Now however, shares can be snapped up for around £82 (note that a high share price doesn’t affect the return potential).
I see a few reasons for the decline. One is that there’s this narrative in the market that automation will lead to less ‘seats’ that companies like LSEG can charge customers for.
Another is that rivals have been releasing some innovative new artificial intelligence (AI) features. LSEG’s working on AI features in partnership with Microsoft, but has been slow to roll them out.
A third reason is that recent earnings guidance from rival FactSet was weak. This spooked investors.
Looking ahead, all of these factors are risks. However, it seems analysts are backing the stock to rebound and hit new all time highs. Currently, the average price target is £126, roughly 54% higher than the current share price.
Personally, I feel that the stock can hit that in the medium term as it looks cheap today (forward-looking P/E ratio of 18.5) and I think the AI disruption fears are massively overblown. I’ve been buying it recently for my own portfolio and reckon it’s one to consider today.
