GSK (NYSE:GSK) Cut to “Underweight” at Barclays

GSK (NYSE:GSK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Monday, October 27th. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised GSK from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Cfra set a $53.00 price target on shares of GSK in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $44.13.

GSK Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of GSK traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $50.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,905,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,795,319. The company has a market cap of $103.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.45. GSK has a 52 week low of $31.72 and a 52 week high of $51.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.91 and a 200 day moving average of $42.79.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.22. GSK had a return on equity of 48.64% and a net margin of 17.16%.The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. GSK has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.730-4.810 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at GSK

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 1,470,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $27,930,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 18,245,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $346,668,129. The trade was a 8.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GSK

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in GSK by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of GSK during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in GSK during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $111,000. Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,577 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the period. Finally, 1248 Management LLC increased its position in GSK by 314.6% during the 3rd quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

About GSK

GSK (GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a London-headquartered, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company formed through the 2000 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company is dual-listed and operates globally, developing, manufacturing and commercializing prescription medicines, vaccines and specialty treatments. Over its history GSK has evolved through portfolio reshaping and strategic transactions to focus on science-led pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

GSK’s core activities include research and development of therapies and vaccines across a range of therapeutic areas, commercial manufacturing, and global marketing.