GSK (NYSE:GSK) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

GSK (NYSE:GSK) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.25 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.58.

GSK Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:GSK traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.38. 2,897,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,636,016. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $37.45 and a 200 day moving average of $36.17. GSK has a 12 month low of $31.72 and a 12 month high of $45.93.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. On average, research analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,823,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,786,475,000 after purchasing an additional 23,814,104 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of GSK by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 25,261,660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $854,349,000 after buying an additional 10,407,905 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GSK by 1,360.4% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,165,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $73,222,000 after buying an additional 2,016,795 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in shares of GSK by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,247,691 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,017,000 after buying an additional 1,281,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in GSK during the fourth quarter worth $36,665,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.