Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on GSK (NYSE:GSK)

Equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

GSK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seven investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:GSK opened at $36.59 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.50. The company has a market capitalization of $75.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.53. GSK has a 1-year low of $31.72 and a 1-year high of $45.92.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released 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, equities analysts predict that GSK will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Creative Planning lifted its stake in GSK by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,100 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,630,000 after acquiring an additional 7,854 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 272,917 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,982,000 after purchasing an additional 13,045 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,849 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 85,376 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 14,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 6,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

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.