Short Interest in GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) Expands By 29.7%

by · The Cerbat Gem

GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSKGet Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 16,061,751 shares, a growth of 29.7% from the March 15th total of 12,381,329 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,478,287 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

GSK Stock Performance

GSK stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.32. 2,986,287 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,977,129. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.93. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $35.45 and a fifty-two week high of $61.69. The stock has a market cap of $118.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.4856 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. GSK’s payout ratio is 50.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GSK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of GSK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GSK currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $53.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on GSK

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in GSK by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 33,195,985 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,627,931,000 after purchasing an additional 968,370 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 2,032.8% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 854,331 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $41,896,000 after buying an additional 814,275 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GSK by 1.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 401,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,444,000 after buying an additional 4,855 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK by 9.1% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 174,093 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,514,000 after acquiring an additional 14,505 shares during the period. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of GSK by 17.4% in the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 158,145 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,826,000 after acquiring an additional 23,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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