GSK (NYSE:GSK) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also commented on GSK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

GSK Trading Down 1.0 %

GSK stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.03. 5,356,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,676,826. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 1 year low of $31.72 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.21 and a 200-day moving average of $37.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.81.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a return on equity of 50.62% and a net margin of 7.97%. Analysts predict that GSK will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its position in GSK by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 750 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in GSK during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 195.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during 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.