GSK (NYSE:GSK) Cut to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

GSK (NYSE:GSK) was downgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $39.50 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $53.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GSK. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Guggenheim cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $35.11 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.84. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $34.29 and a fifty-two week high of $45.92. The company has a market capitalization of $72.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Insider Transactions at GSK

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of GSK by 448.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 14,466 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK during the 1st quarter worth approximately $277,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of GSK by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 181,647 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,787,000 after purchasing an additional 64,144 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 12,992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ledyard National Bank grew its stake in shares of GSK by 97.5% in the first quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 13,366 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 6,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

About GSK

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.