GSK’s (GSK) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group restated their buy rating on shares of GSK (LON:GSK) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a GBX 2,500 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of GSK from GBX 1,900 to GBX 2,250 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Shore Capital Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a GBX 2,000 target price on shares of GSK in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 1,940 price objective on shares of GSK in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 2,023.57.

GSK Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of LON GSK opened at GBX 2,195 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 2,110.80 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 1,890.47. The company has a market cap of £87.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.35. GSK has a 52-week low of GBX 1,263.50 and a 52-week high of GBX 2,282. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 108.20, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.82.

GSK (LON:GSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported GBX 172 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. GSK had a net margin of 17.50% and a return on equity of 37.19%. On average, equities research analysts expect that GSK will post 175.980975 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at GSK

In related news, insider Wendy Becker acquired 3,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 2,219 per share, with a total value of £73,981.46. Also, insider Jonathan Symonds acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 1,951 per share, with a total value of £97,550. Insiders bought 11,452 shares of company stock valued at $24,283,952 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about GSK

Here are the key news stories impacting GSK this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Positive Phase I BEHOLD‑1 data for Mo‑Rez in endometrial and ovarian cancer — early results were reported as encouraging, which boosts GSK’s oncology pipeline prospective value and investor sentiment. GSK announces positive outcomes from Phase I BEHOLD-1 trial of Mo-Rez
• Positive Sentiment: Share buyback continued: GSK repurchased 325,000 ordinary shares (13 April), expanding treasury stock and lifting treasury holdings to ~6.36% of voting rights — buybacks reduce float and are a direct capital-return/earnings-per-share support. GSK Expands Treasury Stock with Latest Share Buyback Tranche GSK Expands Share Buyback, Lifts Treasury Holdings to 6.36% of Voting Rights
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed a “buy” rating with a GBX 2,500 price target — a favorable broker upgrade/confirmation that can attract momentum and institutional interest. Broker Views
• Positive Sentiment: Insiders/executives buying: a disclosed executive share acquisition under GSK’s reward plan and an insider (Julie Brown) bought 5 shares at ~GBX 2,171 — modest but supportive signals that management has some conviction in the stock. GSK Executives Acquire Shares Under Company Reward Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Overall analyst consensus remains mixed to neutral — an aggregate “Hold” rating was reported from brokerages, indicating some caution despite the positives above. GSK Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

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. The company offers shingles, meningitis, respiratory syncytial virus, flu, polio, influenza, and pandemic vaccines. It also provides medicines for HIV, oncology, respiratory/immunology, and other specialty medicine products, as well as inhaled medicines for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and antibiotics for infections.