GSK’s (GSK) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

Citigroup reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of GSK (NYSE:GSK) in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports.

GSK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded GSK from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. HSBC raised shares of GSK from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GSK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, GSK currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

GSK Price Performance

NYSE GSK opened at $51.38 on Friday. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $36.75 and a fifty-two week high of $61.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.39. The firm has a market cap of $103.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. GSK’s payout ratio is currently 46.49%.

Institutional Trading of GSK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of GSK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $528,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in GSK by 84.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,239 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 18,420 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in GSK by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in GSK by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 22,209 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 3,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in GSK by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 7,960 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting GSK

Here are the key news stories impacting GSK this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved Jideytro for previously treated ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer, marking GSK’s first lung cancer approval and a new catalyst for its oncology pipeline. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted Jideytro’s approval as potentially undervalued, suggesting investors may be underestimating the earnings contribution from GSK’s precision oncology assets. Article
• Positive Sentiment: GSK also received approval in Canada for a prefilled syringe presentation of Shingrix, which should support vaccine convenience and commercial execution. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup reaffirmed its neutral rating on GSK, indicating the approval news is positive but not enough to change the bank’s stance yet. Article

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.