Short Interest in GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Grows By 59.7%

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,550,000 shares, an increase of 59.7% from the September 30th total of 10,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at GSK

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,205,528. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in GSK by 9.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,078 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in GSK by 2.5% during the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 11,133 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of GSK by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,097 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in GSK by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 6,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. grew its position in GSK by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 14,231 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GSK. Argus upgraded GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upgraded GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

GSK Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GSK opened at $37.52 on Friday. GSK has a 12-month low of $33.67 and a 12-month high of $45.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.14.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a return on equity of 51.48% and a net margin of 12.87%. The firm had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.3843 per share. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 62.10%.

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.