GSK (NYSE:GSK) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $34.84, but opened at $37.06. GSK shares last traded at $37.57, with a volume of 920,933 shares changing hands.

The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 50.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GSK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Institutional Trading of GSK

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 8.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after buying an additional 2,224,345 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after buying an additional 870,449 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 30.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after buying an additional 833,080 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter worth about $23,366,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of GSK by 107.3% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 965,836 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,483,000 after buying an additional 500,010 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GSK Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $78.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.60.

GSK Company Profile

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.