GSK (NYSE:GSK) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $34.84, but opened at $37.06. GSK shares last traded at $37.57, with a volume of 920,933 shares.

The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 50.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered GSK from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, GSK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GSK. FMR LLC lifted its stake in GSK by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,008,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,224,345 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in GSK by 4.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $759,425,000 after purchasing an additional 870,449 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of GSK by 30.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,803,000 after buying an additional 833,080 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,366,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in GSK by 107.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 965,836 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $39,483,000 after acquiring an additional 500,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Trading Up 8.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.64.

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.