GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 16,061,751 shares, an increase of 29.7% from the March 15th total of 12,381,329 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,478,287 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of GSK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

GSK Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of GSK opened at $57.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.46. GSK has a 1 year low of $35.08 and a 1 year high of $61.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.77.

GSK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $0.4856 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 50.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,195,985 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,627,931,000 after purchasing an additional 968,370 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in shares of GSK by 2,032.8% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 854,331 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,896,000 after purchasing an additional 814,275 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 401,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $15,444,000 after purchasing an additional 4,855 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 174,093 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,514,000 after purchasing an additional 14,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of GSK by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 158,145 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,826,000 after purchasing an additional 23,400 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GSK Company Profile

GSK (GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a London-headquartered, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company formed through the 2000 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company is dual-listed and operates globally, developing, manufacturing and commercializing prescription medicines, vaccines and specialty treatments. Over its history GSK has evolved through portfolio reshaping and strategic transactions to focus on science-led pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

GSK’s core activities include research and development of therapies and vaccines across a range of therapeutic areas, commercial manufacturing, and global marketing.