GSK (NYSE:GSK) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on GSK. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of GSK stock opened at $33.43 on Friday. GSK has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $45.92. The firm has a market cap of $69.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Insider Activity at GSK

In other news, major shareholder Plc Gsk purchased 2,791,930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.00 per share, for a total transaction of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares in the company, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 19.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 10.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GSK. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of GSK during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in GSK by 73.8% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in GSK by 231.8% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of GSK in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of GSK in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 15.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.