GSK (NYSE:GSK) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at StockNews.com

GSK (NYSE:GSK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $53.00 to $39.50 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upgraded shares of GSK to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of GSK from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.25.

GSK Stock Performance

NYSE:GSK traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.17. The company had a trading volume of 3,384,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,162,208. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.53. GSK has a 1-year low of $32.83 and a 1-year high of $45.92. The business's 50 day moving average price is $36.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.40. The firm has a market cap of $70.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.64.

Insider Transactions at GSK

In other GSK news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.00 per share, with a total value of $22,335,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 16,775,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $134,205,528. This represents a 19.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 10.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. FMR LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 8.3% during 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 during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of GSK by 13.9% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,511,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $558,689,000 after buying an additional 1,773,020 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in GSK in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,487,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in GSK by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 18,576,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $759,425,000 after acquiring an additional 870,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in GSK by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,542,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $144,803,000 after acquiring an additional 833,080 shares during the period. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.