GSK (NYSE:GSK) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $38.17, but opened at $36.50. GSK shares last traded at $36.52, with a volume of 1,950,167 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GSK. Argus raised shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays raised shares of GSK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group cut GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

GSK Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.05. The stock has a market cap of $76.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. GSK had a return on equity of 51.23% and a net margin of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $9.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.49 billion. Research analysts expect that GSK plc will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3928 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. GSK’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Plc Gsk bought 2,791,930 shares of GSK stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $134,205,528. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 10.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in GSK during the second quarter worth $349,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of GSK by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 23,493 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 3,044 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in GSK by 448.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 14,466 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in GSK by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 42,456 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 19,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in GSK during the 1st quarter worth approximately $235,000. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GSK Company Profile

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.