GSK (LON:GSK) Sets New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• GSK shares hit a new 52-week low of GBX 1,380.50 during Wednesday trading, though they later recovered to GBX 1,790.50.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with a consensus price target of GBX 2,064.38; individual targets range from GBX 1,975 to GBX 2,500.
• Company insiders recently bought shares, while GSK reported quarterly EPS of GBX 10.80, a 28.35% return on equity and a 14.52% net margin.

Shares of GSK plc (LON:GSK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as GBX 1,380.50 and last traded at GBX 1,790.50, with a volume of 5175766 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 1,765.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GSK. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on GSK from GBX 2,000 to GBX 2,200 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 2,000 target price on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 2,500 price target on shares of GSK in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a GBX 1,975 price objective on shares of GSK in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GSK currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 2,064.38.

GSK Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.36, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 1,870.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 1,937.17. The stock has a market cap of £71.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.29.

GSK (LON:GSK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported GBX 10.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. GSK had a return on equity of 28.35% and a net margin of 14.52%. Equities analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 175.980975 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GSK news, insider Anne Beal purchased 637 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 4,985 per share, with a total value of £31,754.45. Also, insider Jonathan Symonds bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,881 per share, for a total transaction of £28,215. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 2,144 shares of company stock valued at $6,009,566. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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. The company offers shingles, meningitis, respiratory syncytial virus, flu, polio, influenza, and pandemic vaccines. It also provides medicines for HIV, oncology, respiratory/immunology, and other specialty medicine products, as well as inhaled medicines for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and antibiotics for infections.

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